Albus Potter and the Dark Future
by fawfulfan
Summary: When Scorpius Malfoy takes Albus Potter and his friends into the Forbidden Forest to show them something, they are whisked into a battle taking place in the distant future! What has become of the Wizarding World?
1. The Time Turner

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 1: The Time-Turner**

"That's another year under our belts, eh, Al?" laughed James Potter, elbowing his younger brother in the shoulder. The smaller boy grinned appreciatively, and began to eat.

Albus Potter had just completed his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with good marks in all of his exams. The relief for James was far greater, for he had just finished his Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Though Albus did not believe half of what James told him about the infamous fifth year exams—for instance, that each student had to slay a Hungarian Horntail single-handed to pass their Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L.—the stress that James had had to endure was obvious. What was more, he would have to wait another month to find out his results.

Albus looked down the Gryffindor House table—at his older brother James, and his younger sister Lily, who had just finished her first year; at his cousins and best friends, Rose and Hugo, chatting animatedly; at his other cousin, Victoire Weasley, who was tossing back her sheet of silvery-blond hair; at Humphrey Longbottom, son of the Hogwarts Herbology teacher, talking to Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower; at Johnny Thomas, reading a copy of _The Quibbler_...

He then turned his head to view the entire Great Hall. Many of his friends from other houses were talking and laughing. The teachers all sat at the end of the hall, enjoying the feast, just like the students.

Albus was going to miss Hogwarts a great deal. And yet, he reminded himself, his father had had it far worse. At least Albus had living parents, and friendly relatives. He would still see all of his friends over the summer holidays. Not like the stories his father had told him about being raised by Muggles who feared and hated magic.

At the center of the staff table, the headmaster cleared his throat and gestured to the stern, aged witch sitting beside him. Albus perked up—he had never actually seen her before, but knew who she was. Everyone at Hogwarts knew. She had returned today to deliver a speech. Despite her retirement a few years before Albus had first come to the school, she still had a brisk, authoritative glare in her eyes that projected her wisdom and confidence for all to see.

Professor McGonagall, Headmistress Emeritus, rose to her feet. The Great Hall fell silent...

A short while later, Albus, James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo were making their way across the castle grounds. They had said goodbye to their friends, but planned to get back together with them on the Hogwarts Express. They had twenty minutes before it was time to head for the thestral-drawn carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade station.

"I was really worried for a bit, you know." Hugo was saying, as he jogged to keep up with his older sister and cousins. "Pretty close this year, wasn't it?"

"Ah, Slytherin never had a chance for the House Cup." scoffed James. "Especially not after all the points we earned in the final Quidditch match."

"Yeah," said Hugo, a triumphant smile on his face. "We flattened 'em!"

"All thanks to my fine Quaffle moves and Al's first-class Seeking," grinned James, twirling his wand absentmindedly in his hand, so that red and gold sparks shot out of the tip.

"Hey, you lot." came a soft, drawling voice from behind the group.

The five of them wheeled around. Standing in front of them was a boy with a pale, pointed face and long, sleek, blond hair almost covering his eyes, his arms crossed.

"What are you up to?" demanded James, eyes narrowed with suspicion and dislike.

"I've got something to show you," said Scorpius Malfoy, gazing around at all five of them. "It won't be long."

"What?" said Albus, blinking confusedly.

"There's something I have to show you," repeated Malfoy. "In the Forbidden Forest. Unless, that is, you aren't brave enough to handle it."

"You've got some nerve, challenging a Gryffindor's bravery!" snapped James indignantly. "Just be quick...there's only twenty minutes left."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." whispered Lily, as James set off after Malfoy and the others followed suit.

"Relax." said James. "There's five of us and one of him. If that little runt is planning anything funny, we can overpower him."

The five Gryffindors continued to hurry after Malfoy, past the greenhouses and across the grounds. They passed by Hagrid's hut, and set off down the path leading into the Forest.

Nobody said anything for several minutes. Albus felt distinctly uneasy; what was it that Malfoy wanted to show them? He had a funny feeling that it could be nothing good, but knew that it was pointless to try dissuading James. His older brother could be so stubborn and reckless sometimes.

Finally stopping in the shade of several gnarled trees, Malfoy turned to face the group. "What have you got in the Forest?" said Rose apprehensively.

"Nothing." said Malfoy. "I just didn't want to show you this in the castle grounds. Couldn't risk any teachers seeing it."

Albus's heart sank. He was liking this less and less by the second.

Malfoy reached into his cloak pocket and withdrew what looked like a small, ornate hourglass on a fine, gold chain. "Do you know what this is?" he asked softly.

Rose gasped. "Where did you get that?" she demanded sharply.

"Ministry." said Malfoy indifferently. "On the day they took us to the Auror Office for that Defense Against the Dark Arts workshop. They've got a whole cabinet of these in the Department of Mysteries."

"We didn't go into the Department of Mysteries!" said Hugo.

"_You _didn't; _I_ did." said Malfoy, smirking. "I gave you lot the slip and went down there. Then, I went a half-hour back in time and caught up with you. Nobody knew I had left."

"You little sneak-thief!" exclaimed James angrily, fingering the wand in his back pocket.

"But why steal a Time-Turner?" asked Lily, bewildered.

"It's no ordinary Time-Turner; not anymore." said Malfoy, running the gold chain of the magical hourglass through his fingers. "I've been experimenting on it all year in the Room of Requirement; I found a way to make it much stronger, among other things."

Albus felt a sick swoop in his stomach. He had a nasty feeling that he knew _exactly_ what Malfoy was planning, and the thought of it made him want to turn around and run away. But he couldn't abandon his siblings and cousins. How could he warn them of the danger they were in without drawing Malfoy's attention?

"But what are you doing with it?" asked Rose in a quavering, dread-laden voice that made Albus suspect that she was thinking exactly the same as he was.

"It's all led up to this." said Malfoy with an evil gleam in his eye. "You self-satisfied upstarts are going to get what's coming to you. See you later..._much_ later!"

With a sweep of his arm, Malfoy sent the Time-Turner flying through the air. When it landed on the damp forest floor, it emitted a golden glow and began to shake.

"_RUN!_" Albus shouted, but it was too late. As Albus and his friends wheeled around and sprinted away, the world seemed to twist and blur. The ground vanished beneath Albus's feet, and the sound of Malfoy's malicious laughter filled his ears. Everything went black. And then...

The world came back into focus. Albus, James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo were lying on the forest floor, in near total darkness.

"What happened?" cried Lily in terror, leaping to her feet.

"That stupid little brat sent us through time!" shouted James, springing up just like his little sister, his eyes blazing and his face white.

"Mum told me how Time-Turners work." said Rose, sitting up and looking frightened. "Judging from the way he spun it, we traveled _forward_ in time."

"Oh, we've _definitely_ missed the train!" said Hugo, looking up through the tree branches at the night sky.

"Missed the train?" said Albus quietly. "I think that's the _least_ of our worries."

Everyone spun around to look at him. "What do you mean?" asked James swiftly.

"Look." said Albus, pointing around at the vast trunks surrounding them. "These aren't the same trees."

Alarmed, James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo looked around. Sure enough, these trees looked older and larger than the ones Malfoy had stopped under, and they were spaced differently.

"There's only one explanation." said Albus. "Malfoy didn't send us ahead by a few hours...he sent us ahead by a few _centuries_."


	2. Rob Carter

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 2: Rob Carter**

"What do we do?" whispered Lily, looking terrified.

"We've got to get out of the forest." declared James with authority.

"Um...where's the path?" muttered Hugo tentatively.

"We should light our wands." said Rose.

Everyone pulled out their wands and murmured, "_Lumos_." Five glowing balls of light sprang forth as the wand tips ignited. Aiming their wands at the ground, the group frantically scanned their surroundings. As far as they could tell, there was no sign of a path anywhere, nor the Time-Turner. Clearly, Malfoy's modifications to the magical hourglass had prevented it from following them.

"Hey...guys..." said Albus tentatively, voicing aloud what everyone was thinking. "If there's no path into the Forbidden Forest anymore, does this mean that Hogwarts no longer exists? What if this part of the country is no longer inhabited?"

Nobody said anything in response to this frightening thought.

"Well," said James, "I think we've got to try to get out of the Forest anyway. Does anyone know the general direction we came in?"

None of them said anything. Albus, however, strode up to one of the trees he had pointed out earlier, staring at it intently. Finally, he said, "When we appeared here, I came face to face with this tree, and I was running back in the direction we came." He pointed his wand straight ahead, casting a faint, eerie glow over the trees several feet away. "I think we should go this way."

The five of them set off through the forest, occasionally tripping over a tree root or pushing aside a vine. Nobody spoke. Albus was very worried. What if they were going the wrong way? What if they encountered some kind of monstrous beast? Most importantly, _when_ were they? What would they find if they did manage to get out of the Forest?

They had been walking for several minutes when they heard a rustling sound. Everyone froze. "Something's coming." muttered James, pointing his wand into the shadows.

Everyone listened intently, but the rustling noise had stopped. All they could hear was the wind blowing through the trees. "This place isn't safe," said James. "Let's get out of…"

CRASH!

The five of them leapt backwards in terror. Lily and Hugo screamed. Pushing aside the undergrowth ahead with its hairy front legs, its eight shiny eyes gleaming hungrily, its low-slung body as large as a carthorse, was an Acromantula.

Albus pointed his wand at the advancing spider and yelled, "_Stupefy!_"

A jet of red light blasted from the end of Albus's wand, bathing the forest with its glow. The Stunning Spell hit the Acromantula in the face, but nothing happened. Clicking its fearsome pincers furiously, the monstrous spider advanced on Albus.

"_Incarcerous!_" screamed Rose, aiming her own wand at the Acromantula. The beast stumbled over as its four hind legs became entangled in the ropes that had sprang out of thin air. One of its flailing front legs grazed the side of Albus's head, and he was knocked off his feet. Small lights popped in his eyes.

The Acromantula strained for a few seconds. Then, the ropes broke, falling to the ground. Wheeling round to face Rose, the spider lunged. One of its pincers tore Rose's cloak, and she jumped back, shrieking.

"_Confringo!_" shouted James, pointing his wand at the ground underneath the giant spider. There was a loud _bang_, like a vast firecracker, and the Acromantula jumped backwards, pincers clicking rapidly, as a fireball erupted on the ground underneath it.

"RUN FOR IT!" shouted James, as the Acromantula scuttled back from the smoking crater, preparing to attack again.

"James, we'll never be able to outrun that thing!" cried Hugo.

"We've got to try!" yelled Rose, pulling Albus to his feet.

The five of them tore off through the undergrowth, the Acromantula hot on their heels. "_Impedimenta!_" shouted Albus, aiming his wand over his shoulder. The Blocking Jinx wasn't very effective, but the Acromantula's movements seemed to become slightly more labored. Despite this, however, the long, powerful legs of the giant spider were allowing it to quickly gain on the group. James, Hugo, and Rose shot more hexes at the charging Acromantula, but its size and magical power were protecting it from the worst of the spells. Albus seized Lily's arm and dived forward, his lungs on fire, expecting at any moment to feel a set of massive pincers piercing his body.

CRACK!

A deafening noise cut through the air, and the Acromantula jerked. The five of them skidded to a halt and wheeled around, staring at the creature. For a moment, its legs thrashed wildly. Then, the huge spider crumpled, and fell still.

"What happened?" whispered Lily, eyes wide with bewilderment.

"Hold on." said Albus sharply. "There's something else out there."

Listening, the group heard more rustling. Suddenly, a man stepped out from behind a tree. He was slightly taller than James, with a shock of salt-and-pepper hair and a bushy mustache. He was dressed in what seemed to be a tank top and cargo pants. His numerous pants pockets were all bulging with oddly-shaped lumps, and the man was holding what appeared to be an ordinary rifle, thick purple smoke rising from its barrel.

"Who are you?" asked the man, looking astonished.

"I'm James Potter." said James, eying the man. "This is my brother, Albus, and my sister, Lily. And these two are Rose and Hugo Weasley."

The man frowned, as though the names meant something to him but he couldn't think what. Finally, he held out his hand, which James shook apprehensively. "Well, I'm Rob Carter, Gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Happened to be passing through for a discussion with the centaurs, and heard you yelling incantations. That's a mighty fearsome specimen of an Acromantula." he added, prodding the spider with his foot. "But no match for a magically reinforced bullet."

"Thank you, sir. You saved our lives." said Rose breathlessly.

"Please, just call me Rob." said Rob Carter. "And I'm afraid I still don't quite know who you are. What were you doing out in the middle of the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night? You can't be students at Hogwarts; I've never seen you. Where are you from?"

Albus's relief that Hogwarts was still around was immediately replaced by anxiety. How was he supposed to explain where they were from?

"Well," said James, clearly struggling to find the right words, "I can tell you _when_ we're from."

"_When_ you're from?" repeated Rob, puzzled.

"We're from June of the year 2019." said Hugo. "When is this?"

"You've come from twenty-three hundred years in the past?" said Rob, shocked. "But how?"

"We got warped here." said James through gritted teeth. "By that foul little Scorpius Malfoy and his Time-Turner."

Rob's shock seemed to increase tenfold. "You were _warped_..." To Albus's surprise, something that looked like comprehension was dawning in Rob's eyes.

"Come with me." he said sharply. "Now. Quickly." He turned and set off through the Forest at a brisk pace, and the group hastily darted off after him. It seemed to Albus as though the gamekeeper had come to an enormous, possibly terrifying, realization. And Albus was determined to figure out what that realization was. He was already dizzy with shock. _The Forty-Fourth Century! We're in the Forty-Fo__urth Century! _These words spun round in his head, screening out any other thought.

After a few more minutes, the trees thinned, giving way to the sloping grounds of Hogwarts. The grounds, as well as the castle, looked virtually unchanged. In fact, as far as Albus could see, the only major difference was that the hut belonging to the old gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, was no longer there. In its place was a slightly larger cottage surrounded by a magnificent vegetable patch even more impressive than Hagrid's colossal pumpkins. Rob strode up to the door, which had no keyhole or doorknob, and pressed his hand against it. It swung inwards at his touch.

The inside of the cottage looked far more like a Muggle dwelling than a wizarding one. Very few of the objects lying on the tables or resting on the floor looked magical, though a sleek, silver radio was playing a song with distinctly wizarding lyrics. At the same time, however, what seemed to be an enormous television was hanging on the wall in front of a large sofa. Though Albus knew nothing of the makes of Muggle electronics, the television looked far more advanced than any device he had ever seen. Stranger still, instead of magical candles, the house was illuminated by what appeared to be electric light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

"How do those work?" inquired Rose, pointing at one of the lights. "My mum told me that electrical appliances and devices don't work around Hogwarts."

"Those don't run off electricity." said Rob, turning to look at Rose. "They're powered by magic." He reached for a light switch and flicked it on "Every appliance in my house uses magical energy."

"But then why use light switches at all? Why don't you just use your wand?" she persisted, as the room flooded with a soft, golden glow.

Rob chuckled. "Can't, young miss. I haven't got a wand. I'm a Muggle."

The group looked at him, completely stunned. Rob looked bemused by their reaction for a split second, but then understanding flooded his face. "I've forgotten you're from the twenty-first century. I suppose I have quite a bit of explaining to do. Please sit down; I'll make you some tea."

As Rob started the kettle, Albus, James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo sat down at the kitchen table. A few minutes later, they were each holding cups of tea, and Rob promptly sat at the table too.

"Right...well then, let's start from the beginning." said Rob, leaning forward and gazing intently at the five of them. "Explain to me exactly how you ended up here."

"Well," said James, "We had just finished the leaving feast, and had left the castle. We had some time before we were supposed to head for Hogsmeade Station, and we were taking a stroll in the grounds, when we were approached by Scorpius Malfoy."

"I see." said Rob, looking thoughtful. And what did the Malfoy boy do?"

"He said he wanted to show us something in the Forbidden Forest."

"And you followed him?"

"Yes. Well, I mean, he provoked us." said James defensively, refusing to look at the others.

"I'm not going to criticize your actions, lad," grunted Rob, his expression softening.

"Anyway…" James continued, looking slightly red, "he led us deep into the Forest, and then pulled out this Time-Turner. Claimed that he had made some modifications to it, and that it was unique. Then, he threw it onto the ground, and we...we ended up here."

"I see," said Rob. "Well…that explains the mystery of your disappearance."

"What?" said Albus, stiffening. He felt a sickening chill in the pit of his stomach. Of course, everyone would have noticed that they never turned up on the Hogwarts Express.

"It was a huge event; the disappearance of Harry Potter's children, not to mention his nephews, and Scorpius."

"You mean Malfoy vanished too?" said Rose hastily.

"Yeah, he did. In fact, let me show you an old news story. I fancy myself something of a history buff...I know a great deal of Wizarding and Muggle history. That's how I knew who you were when you explained how you got here."

Rob rose to his feet, and beckoned the others to follow. Abandoning their undrunk cups of tea, Albus and his friends followed Rob into the room with the enormous television.

"_TV Power_." Rob said, loudly and clearly. The television winked on to display a dazzling pattern of moving shapes. "Hello, Rob Carter. What can I do for you?" inquired a gentle female voice that flooded the room.

"_Access __historical news, master category Wizarding, subset 21__st__ century _Daily Prophet_, keywords 'Potter Weasley Malfoy disappearance'."_

"1 entry matches criteria." said the voice.

"_Display entry._" said Rob.

The spinning and bouncing shapes on the screen were replaced by the image of a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ which, judging by the date, had been printed at the end of June in the year 2019—on the day after Malfoy had led Albus and his friends into the Forest.

"_Conjure entry._" said Rob. The copy of the _Daily__ Prophet_ grew larger...and then floated off of the TV screen, no longer an image, but an actual newspaper.

Albus and Lily gasped. Rose, James, and Hugo simply stared at the paper in astonishment. This future world was getting stranger by the minute. If Rob Carter really was a Muggle, what was he doing tending the Hogwarts grounds, and living in a house filled with obviously magical devices?

Rob caught the floating newspaper and handed it to James. His eyes bulged with shock.

"What?" said the others. James hastily began to read the article.

_**Mysterious disappearance of Hogwarts Students**_

_The staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with the Ministry of Magic, is currently searching for James, Albus, and Lily Potter, children of the c__elebrated Head of the Auror Office and defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Harry Potter, as well as their cousins Rose and Hugo Weasley, and third year Slytherin student Scorpius Malfoy, all six of whom vanished without a trace on the Hogwarts Grounds me__re minutes before they were due to board the Hogwarts Express._

_ Upon the report that the students were missing from the train, a thorough search of the castle and grounds was conducted by Headmistress Emeritis Minerva McGonagall, Gryffindor and Slytherin Heads of House Neville Longbottom and Horace Slughorn, caretaker Argus Filch, and gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. Preliminary searches have produced no results._

_ Hagrid and Professor Longbottom are currently searching the forest near Hogwarts, responding to Ravenclaw second year Stella Schamander's claim that she had seen the six students heading in that direction._

_ "If you ask me, they sneaked off to hide something they didn't want their parents seeing in their bags." said Argus Filch in a statement to our reporter. "Thought they'd just get rid of the evidence. But those little troublemakers are going to get what's coming to them, one way or another. If we don't find them, the wild beasts in the forest will!"_

_ Professor Longbottom, however, offered us a rather different point of view. "I could see James running off into the Forest on a dare, and I could see him persuading his brother and sister to follow. But Rose and Hugo are far too sensible to do such a thing on a whim, and I also happen to know that none of them gets along all that well with young Scorpius. If you ask me, there's a lot more going on here than just six kids wandering out of bounds. There's something wrong."_

_ Harry Potter declined comment on the present situation, telling our _Daily Prophet _re__porter to "Get out of my house at once, or I'll jinx you so thoroughly that they'll put you on the front page of that disgusting excuse for a gossip rag". However, sources have confirmed that Mr. Potter, his wife Ginny, the Weasley parents Ron and Hermione__, and the Malfoys, Draco and Astoria, have all put out desperate pleas to the Ministry for the safe return of their children._

_ Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt has dispatched twenty Ministry officials to assist in the search efforts. "All three of these families have endured a great deal of hardship over the years." said Shacklebolt in a recent speech. "The Ministry of Magic will not allow yet another tragic blow to befall them. We will find these children."_

James put down the newspaper, looking miserable. "But they never _did_ find us." he said in a hollow voice.

"No, they did not." said Rob. "And now we know why."

Albus felt as though he wanted to cry. His parents must have been devastated. They would have eventually come to the conclusion that their children were dead. And he had no way of letting them know that he wasn't.

"We've got to go to the Ministry of Magic!" Albus burst out, pounding his fist on the coffee table. "We'll tell them our situation. They can help us. We'll..."

"NO!" screamed Rose, looking terrified. "Al, we can't tell the Ministry anything! It's bad enough that ONE person knows that we've come from the past...we can't let anyone else find out our secret!"

Albus looked at her, confused. "But why not? We haven't done anything wrong. We're victims!"

"Albus, the biggest, most fundamental Wizarding law bans people from changing time! Mum told me! If we were found out, we would be subject to the worst punishments the Ministry could give!"

"What would happen?" said Hugo, looking scared.

"At _best_, they would kill us. At _worst_, if they decide we've done a lot of damage, they'll erase us from history! Do you understand? We'll never have been _born_!"

"But it wasn't our fault!" said Albus, horrified. "It was Malfoy's! HE sent us here!"

"That law isn't designed to punish those at fault, Al. It's designed to do damage control!" said Rose. "Whether or not we're to blame, we've changed the course of history! Besides, we have no _proof_ that we were sent here against our will. If the Ministry knows we're here, we will be eliminated before we can cause any more problems. It's as simple as that!"

The group sat in silence, pondering this terrible information. "Well, if we're stuck in the future," said James slowly, "I guess it makes sense to learn more about it. What's changed in the wizarding world in these two millennia?"

Rob frowned, apparently trying to decide how best to explain everything. Finally, he said, "Okay...well, the most significant thing you should know is that there isn't any "wizarding" world, or "Muggle" world anymore. Wizards hide secrets from Muggles no longer."

"They repealed the International Statute of Secrecy?" exclaimed Rose in astonishment. "The wizards came out of hiding? They revealed themselves to the Muggles?"

"Around 200 years after you were born." confirmed Rob, who looked rather amused by the stunned reactions of Albus, James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo.

"Why did we expose our existence?" asked Hugo eagerly.

"To save us Muggles from ourselves." said Rob with a small chuckle. "Were any of you taking Muggle Studies at Hogwarts?"

"I was." said Rose.

"Then I'm sure you know all about the horrific problems that Muggle society was facing."

"Wars." said Rose at once. "Pandemics. Energy shortages. Famine. Pollution and climate disasters."

"Exactly." said Rob. "Whenever wizards used to think of Muggle disasters, they would usually think of Voldemort, or of some other dark wizard who saw fit to massacre non-magical people."

The fact that Rob had said Voldemort's name was not lost on Albus. He supposed that people no longer feared a dark wizard who had been dead for over two thousand years enough to avoid speaking his name.

"But the fact is that wizards never did anywhere near as much harm to Muggles as they did to themselves. Those problems you mentioned, Rose...they only got worse over time. Eventually, it looked as though Muggle society was on the verge of total ruin.

"But the wizarding community wouldn't stand for that. Muggles, after all, ruled the world, and most wizards were not content to stand by and watch the Muggles kill themselves, and the entire planet along with them. I take it you all know the reason why wizards remained hidden for so long."

"Because we knew that Muggles would demand to use our magic for their own purposes." said Rose at once.

"That's right." said Rob. "Above all else, wizards feared that their powers would be exploited. But, you see, that no longer mattered, because most wizards were keen to help the Muggles anyway. So they came out of hiding and revealed their existence. All over the world, various magical governments made themselves known to the general public; the various magical ministries of Europe, the United States Department of Magic, the People's Wizarding Council in China...everything."

"It must have been huge." said Lily.

"It was probably the single most important event in human history." said Rob. "It changed everything."

"What happened then?" asked Albus eagerly.

"Well, once Muggles had got used to the idea of magic, wizards began the process of reintegrating themselves into Muggle society, while at the same time allowing Muggles to enter theirs. All over the world, Muggle-Repelling charms and magical concealment was lifted. Back in your time, for instance, any Muggle who approached Hogwarts would see an uninviting, crumbling old ruin. Now, we Muggles see the castle as it really is. Indeed, Muggle-Repelling Charms have more or less come to be viewed as hate crimes.

"But that was only the beginning. You see, the Muggles had ambitious ideas involving magic that would prove to benefit everyone.

"Back in your time, most wizards didn't give Muggles much credit, but the fact is that they were easily as clever as wizards—perhaps more so. The technology they created allowed them to do all kinds of incredible things. Lacking the benefits of Apparition, Floo Powder, Portkeys, or Broomsticks, Muggles invented cars, trains, ships, and airplanes, which, despite their flaws, allowed Muggles to travel all over the world. They invented the telephone and the Internet, which allowed for instantaneous global communication. They explored the secrets of chemistry, physics, biology, and many other fascinating areas that wizards never bothered themselves with because they bore little relevance to magic.

"But, you see, now that Muggles knew about magic, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities. The wizarding world could have easily dismissed Muggle inventions as relics of a primitive past, but in fact wizards came to be enthralled with the Muggle way of life as they gained a greater understanding of it all. Far from discarding such societal paradigms, they fused them with magic to create something different altogether.

"It started out with energy. In place of electricity, magical power was transmitted all over the world and used to power machinery. There were no more energy crises, because magic is inexhaustible. Muggles and wizards alike profited from this new innovation, for magical machinery made everything easier.

"Then, on the flip side, wizards began to design methods of allowing non-magical people to engage in magical activities. "Warp Pods" around the world enabled Muggles to Apparate. Muggle pharmaceuticals were strengthened with special potions, allowing doctors to treat Muggle patients with the abilities of magical healers. Magical creatures were bred and raised by Muggles for countless purposes. Even magical sports, like Quidditch and Quodpot, became wildly popular among Muggles, aided by the use of new kinds of brooms that could be flown without innate magical ability.

"Of course, the system isn't perfect. Muggles still cannot perform their own magic. Because a wand is powered by the user's own magical abilities, it is impossible to create a Muggle wand. However..."

"This sounds brilliant!" said Albus. He had almost forgotten about their predicament; this new society sounded so fascinating that he would very much like to see more of it.

"Well, certainly it's quite nice." said Rob, "But there's also a dark side to this future of ours."

"What is it?" asked Rose apprehensively.

"Well..."

But Rob suddenly stopped speaking. A screaming klaxon sound was slicing through the stillness of the night. Albus screwed up his eyes and covered his ears at the shrill alarm.

"What's going…" he began, but stopped as he caught sight of the gamekeeper's expression. Something was terribly wrong.

The color had drained from Rob's face. He sprang to his feet and dashed to the window, looking up at the castle in horror.

"Stingers." he muttered.


	3. The Raid

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 3: The Raid**

"What's happening?" cried Lily, dashing to the window.

"They've come." said Rob in horrified voice. "The Stingers have come."

"What are Stingers?" said Albus, confused.

"No time to explain! I've gotta get you out of here. Quickly, let's move!"

The startled group followed Rob as he dashed to the door and thrust it open. They sprinted across the grounds as the klaxon continued to wail. "Hide in those trees!" shouted Rob. "I've got to get back to my house before they realize I'm not there. Do not let anyone see you!"

"What's this about?" said Hugo in a trembling voice, as they concealed themselves in a cluster of trees, looking at the grounds.

"Look!" whispered Albus, pointing up into the black night sky. Darting towards the Hogwarts grounds were a pair of what seemed to be red, glowing streaks of smoke. As they struck the ground, they solidified into two brutal-looking men in purple robes, illuminated by the light from the windows of Rob's house.

"Stop!"

The voice carried across the grounds, audible even over the klaxon. A woman was striding towards the pair of men. Albus thought that she had to be a teacher, because she spoke in a strict, authoritative tone. At the same time, however, Albus thought he heard as much fear as defiance in her voice.

"Why have you come here?" the woman demanded, stopping in front of the purple-robed men. "Stingers are not allowed within the boundaries of Hogwarts, as I'm sure you are well aware."

"I don't approve of you tone, _Professor_." said one of the men in a gruff, sneering voice laden with contempt.

The woman took a step backwards, evidently shocked. "V-Vega?"

"S'right." growled the man.

"You've fallen in with them?" said the woman, her voice much higher now.

"We're the wave of the future, Professor Lantice. Plenty more'll follow in time, just you wait and see."

"You were such a gifted young man, Vega." said the woman named Professor Lantice, a hint of desperation in her voice. "And _this_ is what you've chosen to make of your life?"

"We just want to change things. Is that so wrong?" said the other man in a deep voice.

"I care for neither your ends nor your means. And you can tell that to your master from me."

"We're not telling him nothing 'cept what we came here to find out." snarled the man called Vega, raising his fist threateningly. "And I'd urge you to answer truthfully, Professor Lantice...you've tested our patience enough already.

"Now...to business. We have sufficient intelligence to know that Hogwarts School is harboring at least one member of staff whose allegiances lie with the Feather of Fawkes."

Rose turned towards James, startled. "Did he say..."

"As we have already explained to you..." said Professor Lantice slowly through clenched teeth, "We do not sympathize with your cause...but neither do we sabotage your endeavors. We are not idiotic enough to get involved in the business of thugs such as yourselves."

Instantly, the second man thrust his arm forward, so that his palm faced Professor Lantice. Though he held no wand or weapon of any sort, it seemed as though he had performed magic because, with a burst of light, Professor Lantice crumpled, screaming and thrashing on the dewy grass.

"The Cruciatus Curse!" gasped Rose, clutching her face and trembling with fright.

Professor Lantice's shrieks and howls were drowning out the wailing alarm. A few seconds later, the man let his arm fall, and Professor Lantice went limp, gasping and spluttering, curled into a ball at his feet.

"You will show us respect when you talk to us." snarled the man.

"I'll take this from here, Chardmus." said Vega, stepping forwards and gazing down at the whimpering teacher.

"Anyway..." said Vega, "We are not asking if it's true. We are telling you that we _know_ it is true. We have associates in Hogwarts who helpfully informed us how to bypass your Firewall Charms, and we intercepted a holographic message to the Feather of Fawkes. However, we failed to get around one pesky little enchantment...so we heard the conversation, but did not see it. All we need to know is who sent it."

Professor Lantice looked up at Vega. The sun had just begun to rise, and from its light, Albus could see that her face was tear-streaked, but her eyes were blazing.

"There's more than one of them." she said, her voice cold and suffused with defiant hatred. "There's far more of their people in Hogwarts than of yours. They teach the students of your evils. They operate the emergency klaxon so that you can never approach Hogwarts by stealth. They spy on _your_ spies. And so long as that holds true, the Stingers will never control the school! I will never reveal any of them...save for one. It was _I_ who sent that hologram to the Feather of Fawkes. And I will die before I reveal anything else."

There was a long pause. Vega and Chardmus stared down at Professor Lantice in silence. Then, in a soft voice barely audible over the shrieking wail of the alarm, Vega said, "So be it."

Both men thrust their arms out again, pointing at Professor Lantice. Two jets of green light burst from their palms and hit Professor Lantice directly in the face. She collapsed back to the ground, completely still, her eyes glassy and vacant. Lily and Hugo stifled cries of horror. James gasped. Rose burst into tears. Albus simply sat there, paralyzed with shock.

Kicking aside the limp body, Chardmus growled, "It seems things are worse than our master feared."

"She was bluffing!" snapped Vega. "Hogwarts can't possibly have that many..."

"Open your eyes, fool!" roared Chardmus. "It's been staring us in the face the whole time! Why we didn't figure it out earlier, I..."

"We'll have to get into the castle." said Vega darkly. "See how much more we can find out."

"What do we do now?" whimpered Lily, as the two men began to head in the direction of Hogwarts.

"We stay hidden." said James in an uncharacteristically harsh voice. "Those men are maniacs. There's no telling what they'd do to us. We could end up just like..."

He gulped, and fell silent.

Albus didn't understand what was happening at all. If this future world was as progressive and peaceful as Rob had described, then who were these two Dark wizards who could murder a Hogwarts teacher and not think twice about it? Clearly there was something else going on in the world that Rob hadn't told them about…something much more sinister.

The two men strode purposefully across the grounds, towards the castle. And then…

_BANG!_

Vega and Chardmus leapt backwards. The ground ahead of them had exploded, just as it had when James had used the Blasting Curse to drive back the Acromantula. Wizards were charging out of the front doors of the castle, firing a storm of spells at the two intruders. Then, Albus heard a familiar deafening _crack_, and, turning towards Rob's cottage, saw the gamekeeper charging towards the fray, taking aim with his magical rifle.

"_Locomotor Mortis!_" bellowed a heavyset man with an auburn beard. Chardmus yelled as the spell hit him, and fell flat on his face, unable to move his legs. Vega snarled with rage and shot another Killing Curse from his hand. His attacker dodged the jet of green light and shouted "_Stupefy!_". Vega ducked to avoid the spell and wheeled to face a bespectacled witch who was bearing down on him. A purple streak of flame erupted from Vega's arm and passed across the witch's stomach. With a gasp, she collapsed flat on her face and moved no more.

"_Oblitero!_" roared Chardmus from the ground, thrusting his hand out. The curse was so powerful that, although the blinding ray of blue light did not hit anyone, several people yelped with pain as it flew past, portions of their robes burning away and the skin underneath blistering angrily. The spell sailed over the Hogwarts grounds, and collided with the castle wall. There was a colossal blast, and a huge chunk of the wall was expelled outwards. Albus felt the ground tremble beneath his feet.

Through the confusion and panic of the battle before them, Albus heard Vega shout, "_Finite Incantatem!_" Chardmus sprang to his feet, freed from the Leg-Locker Curse, and the two wizards dashed off towards the gates of the Hogwarts grounds, beyond which, Albus knew, they would be able to Disapparate.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" Chardmus bellowed once more, aiming his arm wildly over his shoulder. The pursuers scattered to avoid the jet of green light, but quickly resumed the chase, shooting their own spells at Vega and Chardmus.

Vega leapt aside as three Stunning Spells came at him, and yelled, "_Reducto!_" The curse hit the iron gates ahead of them, and with a tremendous _bang_, they were blasted open.

Charging forwards, Rob fired his rifle at the fleeing wizards, but they parried the shots with spells that caused the bullets to explode in midair like grenades.

Another rain of spells flew towards Vega and Chardmus, but before they had made contact, the two men had flung themselves past the gates, turned on the spot, and vanished in a swish of purple robes.

Instantly, the wailing klaxon died away, and the pursuing band of wizards and witches stopped in their tracks hopelessly. The battle was over. The enemy had escaped.

Without thinking, Albus ducked out from behind the trees, dashed across the grounds, and ran to the witches and wizards lying on the ground. The sun was now rising proper, casting a soft pinkish light over the scene. Albus spared only a quick glance at the body of Professor Lantice before turning away, his eyes burning. The witch Vega cursed lay exactly where she had fallen, completely still. Whether she was dead or just unconscious, Albus didn't know, nor could he bear to look more closely. Another wizard was groaning several yards away, dazed and in pain.

The people who had chased Vega and Chardmus were returning, also heading towards the dead and wounded. Albus felt somebody breathing beside him, and turned to see that James, Rose, Lily, and Hugo had caught up with him. Several people were gathering around the motionless witch and the moaning wizard, bending down and examining them. Others were congregating at the place where Professor Lantice's body lay, their faces shocked, some of them crying silently. And there were more arriving; students were streaming out of the castle, joining the staff, muttering amongst themselves, gasping with horror, sobbing...

"Professor Donelan is alive." announced the large, bearded wizard, who was now standing over the motionless witch, "But the curse has inflicted appalling internal injuries. She must be taken to St. Mungo's Hospital immediately."

"I can sort out Professor Prescott in no time." said a witch who had her hand on the forehead of the other staff member. "I'll take him along to the Hospital Wing." She pointed her wand at the groaning man and said, "_Mobil__icorpus_." The man called Professor Prescott rose into the air. As the woman set off for the castle, Professor Prescott floated along ahead of her.

"We need to summon a team of Healers at once." said the bearded wizard. He thrust his wand into the air, and it gave off a shrill whistling noise. Instantly, there was a _bang_ from beyond the Hogwarts gates, and Albus turned to see a new group of people striding towards the scene, bearing a stretcher emblazoned with the crossed bone-and-wand logo of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

"Come with me, you five." came a voice from behind Albus. He jumped and spun around to see Rob standing there, looking grim and determined.

"What now?" asked Hugo apprehensively.

"You aren't safe here at Hogwarts. Even if the Stingers don't end up finding you, you'll still face awkward questions from the staff and students."

"_Finding_ us? The Stingers? What do you mean?" asked Albus, his stomach turning cold.

"I...I have a confession to make." said Rob shakily, leading the group away from the mass of people fussing over Professor Donelan. "I wasn't out in the Forbidden Forest to speak to the centaurs. I...I was looking for you."

"You were looking for us?" said Albus. He was so confused that his mind seemed to have gone blank. "But...but..."

"I didn't know that you were who you were, and that you were from the past." said Rob. "I had just received word that the Stingers were coming to Hogwarts, and that, while the raid was mainly about attacking those teachers close to the Feather of Fawkes..."

"What's this Feather of Fawkes thing?" asked James. "And who sent you word?"

"All in good time, all in good time." said Rob quickly, glancing over his shoulder. "Anyway, while this raid was officially about attacking teachers close to the Feather of Fawkes, they had a slightly more secretive mission as well. That mission was to find and capture a group of children who would reportedly be in the Forbidden Forest. I...I didn't understand what was going on, but...well, there were children in danger. I had to do something."

"How did the Stingers know that we would be here?" said Hugo. "And what do they want with us?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. Don't have the faintest idea." said Rob. "But the important thing is that you are in grave peril as long as you remain at Hogwarts. I've got to get you out of here...to the safest place possible."

"Where are you taking us?" asked Lily, looking terrified.

"The Feather of Fawkes." Rob answered.


	4. The Feather of Fawkes

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 4: The Feather of Fawkes**

"So, uh, where _exactly_ are we going?" asked Albus, as he and the others walked beside Rob.

"Hogsmeade." replied Rob. Then, bending low, he added in a whisper "But that isn't our, ah..._final_ destination."

"Where would that be?" asked Lily.

"Not now. Can't risk being overheard. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, anyway." And on that enigmatic note, Rob broke into a brisk trot.

Albus was still dying to know more. What _was_ the Feather of Fawkes? As impossible as it was, the name meant something to Albus. He had the strangest feeling that he had heard it somewhere before...but how could he have done? He had come from the distant past, after all.

More to keep himself from asking any more questions than for any other reason, Albus gazed around at the now brightly-illuminated Hogwarts grounds, looking for any other changes that had been made during the past two millennia. Gazing at the castle, he now noticed that it actually did seem to have changed a little. The rising sun reflected off of a few small towers that had not existed in his time, and there were some other minor additions here and there. The grounds, too were not quite as unaltered as they had seemed at first. The Whomping Willow was gone, and in its place was a small brick building with a single door fitted with what appeared to be an old-fashioned padlock. Albus knew that the building must have been constructed to cover the secret passageway that led to the Shrieking Shack.

Suddenly, something else caught Albus's eye...something that distracted him completely. Having focused so exclusively on the castle and grounds, Albus had not spared a single glance at the sky beyond the outer walls. Now that he had done so, what he saw made him stop in his tracks, transfixed, unable to tear his gaze from the structures that loomed in the distance.

Skyscrapers.

"What...what are those?" said Hugo, who, having noticed that Albus had come to a halt, was now looking in the same direction.

"Buildings, of course." said Rob. "It's the skyline of Hogsmeade. Oh, but I completely forgot. Back in your time, that city was just a small wizarding village."

"Hogsmeade is an urban center now?" gasped Rose in amazement.

"Yeah, it is. Once the wizards came out of hiding, there was no need for all-wizard settlements anymore. Muggles came, and built their own districts...Hogsmeade is now one of the most integrated cities in the world. In most places, wizards and Muggles still stick together in their own neighborhoods and districts, but not here."

Soon, the small party had left the Hogwarts grounds and were strolling along the path to Hogsmeade. Before long, however, that path had given way to a busy network of roads. Soon after that, they were in the city itself.

Until now, the full implications of wizards and Muggles coexisting had not really sunk in for Albus. Now, however, it hit him full force, as he found himself in a place the like of which he could never have imagined.

The streets were full of traffic. The sleek design of these cars was unlike any automobile that Albus had ever seen, but there was nothing distinctly magical about them. However, the early-morning traffic in Hogsmeade was not restricted to the ground. Hundreds of feet above their heads were the countless blurs of men and women flying on broomsticks, and numerous owls swooped between the buildings and across the squares, though not one of them was carrying an envelope or package.

Half of the people walking on the ground wore cloaks of various colors and shapes. The other half wore odd, spiky clothing that had to be the current Muggle fashions. Through the windows of the buildings, Albus could see magical and non-magical activity in equal measure. Albus even saw a woman who was operating a silvery computer with one hand and waving her wand at a pile of laundry with the other.

It was all so wonderful, Albus thought. A warm glow of happiness sparked in his chest at the thought of what the people of the future had achieved.

Then he remembered the Stingers, and his joyous feelings evaporated at once. How did they know he and his friends were here? More important, what did they want with them? He dreaded the answers, but at the same time, he longed to know them. Was this how his father had felt, when we was trying to unravel Voldemort's schemes?

"This way." muttered Rob, and Albus was steered into a dark, concealed alleyway. Soon, they were navigating a shadowy maze of narrow, empty streets. The noise of the city had died away completely.

They came to a halt in another narrow alley framed by two towering brick buildings on either side. A third brick wall stood at the end of the alley, forming a dead end. The place was completely empty, except for two dusty, battered old trash cans. Albus could not understand what was going on. What were they doing in this place?

Suddenly, as they approached the end of the alley, the lid flew off one of the trash cans as a dark figure leapt out. The figure drew out a wand and pointed it directly at Rob's face. The gamekeeper closed his eyes and shivered, as if hit with an icy draught. Neither he nor the shadowy figure moved for several seconds. Then, the figure lowered the wand, and Rob seemed to relax.

"Ugh...I never get used to that." said Rob with a bitter smile.

"Well, just remember...it doesn't take as long if you relax your mind." replied the figure amiably. Albus realized from the speaker's voice that the person was a woman

"What just happened?" asked Hugo, puzzled.

"I just verified your companion's identity," responded the figure, "using Legilimency."

"Legilimency." repeated Albus, having to suppress a shudder of his own. He couldn't help but be wary of people who could magically penetrate the minds of others and interpret their memories and emotions. His father had told him that Voldemort himself had been the greatest Legilimens of all time.

"Anyway...we should get going straight away, Aviva." said Rob.

"Absolutely." agreed the woman. She drew her wand again, and tapped the brick wall of the building on the right, muttering strange words under her breath. The moment she stopped speaking, the bricks seemed to melt away, leaving a hole large enough to step through.

"After you." said Rob, gesturing at the hole. Feeling nervous, Albus and his friends stepped through the hole into a shabby, dirty room containing nothing but a curious egg-shaped machine in the corner. This machine stretched from the ceiling to the floor and had a smooth, grimy surface. A large opening in the side revealed an inner chamber with a large screen that curved with the walls.

"I'll get it programmed." said Aviva, stepping into the machine.

"What is that thing?" asked Lily, turning to Rob.

"It's a Warp Pod." he explained. "It automates the process of Apparition, making it much safer and more powerful. It allows Muggles and under-seventeens to Apparate, and it also greatly increases the range of Apparition, allowing people to travel much farther distances than they could on their own. Aviva here is programming the Warp Pod to enable our preset template; when we step into the Pod, we'll go straight to our headquarters."

Albus resisted from asking what "their headquarters" meant; he knew he would find out soon enough.

"Okay," said Aviva, stepping out of the Warp Pod. "I've got it all set up."

"Good, good." said Rob. "All right...Lily, you go first, then Hugo, Rose, Albus, James, Aviva, and I'll deactivate the template and send myself on custom settings."

Looking frightened, Lily stepped forwards and entered the Warp Pod. Instantly, a voice inside the device said, "Lily Potter, Apparition to preset coordinates. Please turn around."

Lily turned on the spot, and vanished in a swish of robes.

"Okay, Hugo, you next." said Aviva.

Hugo walked forwards into the Pod. "Hugo Weasley, Apparition to preset coordinates. Please turn around." Hugo wheeled around and disappeared just as Lily had done.

"Rose Weasley, Apparition to preset coordinates. Please turn around." Rose Disapparated in the same manner as the first two.

"Albus, your turn now." said Rob. Feeling anxious, Albus stepped forwards into the device. It seemed larger now that he was standing inside of it.

"Albus Potter, Apparition to preset coordinates. Please turn around."

Taking a deep breath, Albus turned on the spot. Before he could get another look at James, Rob, and Aviva standing before him in the grimy little room, the world went black. He was being squeezed from all directions. It felt as though he was being sent through a garbage compactor. He couldn't breathe, or even move. But just as the sensation became almost unendurable, it lifted, and he was on his stomach, gasping for breath, eyes clamped shut.

He felt two pairs of hands pulling him to his feet. Lily and Hugo had taken each of his arms. He steadied himself, gave his head an experimental shake, and the world came back into focus.

They were standing in a vast, circular chamber with a domed ceiling. Several large windows wrapped around the room. Rose was standing at one of these windows, her face pressed against the glass, looking dumbstruck. Albus hastily scurried over to one of the other windows, and looked out over the strangest landscape he had ever seen.

The sky was completely black. Blacker than night. Blacker than any sky Albus could remember seeing in his life. What was more, Albus couldn't ever recall seeing a night sky with this many stars. It was mesmerizing to see so many specks of light laid against this pitch-black expanse.

But even stranger than the sky was what lay beneath it. A swirling, seething, faintly luminous mass of orange and yellow clouds. It was as if the air itself was on fire. This great expanse of clouds stretched as far as Albus could see, and met the black, star-strewn sky on the horizon.

SWOOSH!

In a whirl of his cloak, James had appeared in the center of the room, lost his balance, and fell over just as Albus had done. Climbing to his feet, he walked over to Albus and stared out the window, open-mouthed. "What the...?"

SWOOSH!

Aviva had materialized in the chamber. Unlike Albus and James, she did not stagger or fall to the ground. James immediately turned around and walked straight towards her. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Headquarters of the Feather of Fawkes."

"No, I meant where..."

"We are on a space station located above the outer cloud layers of Jupiter."

The five of them simply stared at her, too stunned to speak.

"It's ideal for headquarters. We knew that once the Stingers saw the Feather of Fawkes as a genuine threat, they would not rest until they had eradicated us. But even if they knew we were on Jupiter, they'd have a real job finding our exact coordinates; the planet is so big."

"Okay, let's back up for a moment." Albus said, turning from the window to face Aviva. "What is the Feather of Fawkes, exactly?"

"You are from the twenty-first century, are you not?" said Aviva.

"How did you know that?" said Hugo, looking amazed.

"Our information network is highly interconnected." said Aviva. "Rob wasn't the only one who found out the Stingers were hunting you. When he found out who you were, he sent us word. But that's beside the point. Did your parents, by any chance, tell you about the secret society known as the 'Order of the Phoenix'?"

"Yes." said Rose. "Albus Dumbledore founded it in the 1970s to combat Voldemort's rise to power."

"That's right." said Aviva. "Well, I'd say that the best way of describing the Feather of Fawkes would be to compare it to the Order of the Phoenix. There are many, many parallels between the two. Even our names have something in common, for Fawkes was the name of Dumbledore's pet phoenix."

"I KNEW the name sounded familiar!" exclaimed Albus. "My dad told me all about Fawkes! He saved my dad's life in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year at Hogwarts!"

"Phoenixes are enigmatic creatures in themselves," said Aviva, "but perhaps none are more curious than those rare specimens that have been domesticated. Tame phoenixes aren't so much pets as extensions of their masters' minds and spirits. In fact, when the owner of a domesticated phoenix dies, the bird is believed to accompany him into...well, wherever he goes."

"We're getting off the point again." said James impatiently.

"Oh, right...well, the Feather of Fawkes was founded by perhaps the greatest wizard of the age...Nabus Rucolfix. This organization serves as a countermovement to the Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery."

"The what?" said Albus.

"Around fifty years ago, a new movement sprung up rapidly. The basic premise behind it was that Muggles have held back wizardkind ever since we came out of hiding."

"Sounds like the whole pureblood mania deal of Salazar Slytherin's." said Rose.

"Yes, well, that debate has been meaningless for over two thousand years." said Aviva. "None of the old pureblood families exist anymore. They're all extinct in the male line. These days, all that matters is that you either have magic powers, or you don't. Mainstream society, however, emphasizes the equality of wizards and Muggles. It's crucial to remember that, without the creativity that enabled Muggles to live without magic, our society would never have become as advanced as it is.

"Some people, however, don't see it that way. According to this new movement, Muggles were the root cause of wizarding hardship, and that only by cleansing society of non-magical people could the wizards thrive. The purveyors of this belief called themselves the Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery, and they started making bids to gain power. The people in the group's inner circle ran for several government offices. However, though the group gained enormous momentum, enough Muggles...and wizards...were outraged at their ideology that they lost every election they ran in. So they turned to a different approach..." Aviva smiled bitterly. "They created an army of terrorists.

"The members of this army came to be known as Stingers. And they are now a force to be reckoned with. Even the governments are powerless to stop them. They strike without warning, mercilessly slaughtering Muggles and those who openly criticize them. They are also incredibly powerful; they have learned to channel their magical powers through their own bodies, rather than use wands."

Albus remembered how the two Stingers, Vega and Chardmus, had cast powerful dark magic merely by thrusting their palms out. He felt a shiver run down his spine.

"So, what does the Feather of Fawkes do to work against the Circle?" asked James.

"Whatever we can do." said Aviva. "Which isn't very much." she added with another bitter smile. "We have espionage agents who try to find out if they're planning an attack. We then notify the authorities, and, should attempts to thwart the attack prove unsuccessful, try to save as many people as we can. We also sometimes raid their spaceships, capture Stingers, that sort of thing."

"Their _spaceships_?" said Rose. "How much space travel is there, anyway?"

"Loads." said Aviva. "There are plenty of settlements on planets and planetary satellites. Only about half of all wizards and Muggles live on Earth. And, speaking of which, we'll be sending you somewhere else shortly."

"What?" said Hugo incredulously. "But we just got here!"

"Lately, we've received intelligence that the Stingers may be on the verge of discovering our headquarters." said Aviva. "We only brought you here to shake them off. If there's a chance that they'll discover us, you aren't safe. We can easily prepare for invasion, but we'll need to send you to one of our distant outposts."

"Where will you be taking us?" asked Lily.

"We haven't decided yet." said Aviva. We will be holding a meeting to discuss the matter in a few minutes. I think it would make sense if you attended it."


	5. The Conference

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 5: The Conference**

Albus felt distinctly ill at ease, as he and his friends followed Aviva down the halls of the Feather of Fawkes headquarters. It wasn't quite suspicion that he was feeling—he certainly trusted these people far more than the Stingers—but it was nevertheless disconcerting to think that he was heading to a conference in which a group of wizards and Muggles from the distant future would decide what to do with him. Then again, however, maybe it was time to stop thinking of it as the "distant future"; whether he liked it or not, Albus was now a part of this time period.

"Here we are." said Aviva, turning towards what seemed to be an ordinary elevator. The moment she approached the sliding doors, they parted to reveal a windowed circular chamber that looked out over the cloud bands of Jupiter. The six of them piled into the elevator, and the doors slid shut once more.

"State destination." a voice intoned.

"Conference Room Alpha." said Aviva.

"Destination is a secure area. Verifying identity." replied the voice. After a short pause, the voice said, "Identity verified. Proceeding to Conference Room Alpha."

The elevator lurched, and they began to move downwards, gathering speed, as though in freefall. Lily and Hugo looked scared; Rose and James, apprehensive. Suddenly, they dropped through the topmost cloud bank, plunging into a swirling, howling maelstrom of gas. Nobody said anything as the elevator plunged deeper within Jupiter. After a few minutes, Albus felt the chamber beginning to slow down, and, moments later, they had come to a halt in front of a dark shadow. The doors slid open.

The six of them stepped out of the elevator, into a vast, high-ceilinged room containing the longest table Albus had ever seen. He suspected that if the four Hogwarts house tables in the Great Hall were laid end to end, they wouldn't be half as long as the table before him. Hundreds of identical chairs sat around the table, looking expectant. There was nothing on the table except for what seemed to be a small, crystal dome in the center. As the group passed by the dome, Albus examined it curiously. Contained inside the dome, floating in midair, was a single magnificent golden feather.

"Yes...that is a genuine feather from the tail of Fawkes." said a deep voice. Albus jumped and spun around; it had sounded as though the voice had come from right beside him, but there was nobody there. Then, Albus noticed an old, bearded man striding towards him.

"The tale of how that feather came to be in our possession is long and tedious; I won't bore you with it." said the man. Once again, Albus heard his voice as though he was far nearer to him than he was. "Naturally, it serves a great symbolic importance to our movement."

Noting Albus's stunned expression, the man added, "This room has powerful enchantments placed upon it to ensure that every person's voice is heard clearly no matter where anyone is located. What good would a conference room be if people at one end could not hear the conference taking place at the other?"

"I suppose that's true." said Albus. His own voice sounded normal to him, but he supposed that the old man was hearing it the same way Albus heard his voice. At last, the man had reached him. Though Albus had never met Professor Dumbledore, he had seen portraits of him, and this man's serene, benign expression put Albus in mind of the former Hogwarts Headmaster. "I'm Albus Potter." he said holding out his hand.

"Nabus Rucolfix." replied the man, shaking Albus's hand.

"The leader of the Feather of Fawkes?" said Albus.

"Precisely."

"Hello, sir." said Aviva, stepping forwards. "You are well, I hope?"

"Recent events have taken their toll on me." sighed Nabus wearily. "But I am as well as can be expected. And you?"

"Rather dispirited, sir. News of last night's events have shaken me."

With a pang, Albus remembered that the Hogwarts teacher who had been murdered, Professor Lantice, had been in the Feather of Fawkes.

"A terrible loss." said Nabus gravely, inclining his head. "It is some consolation, however, that the Stingers failed in their primary objective." he gestured at Albus, James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo.

"When should the others be arriving?" inquired Aviva, looking around the room. Albus followed suit and noticed for the first time that the walls were inlaid with around fifty elevator doors identical to those that they had just left.

"Any moment now." said Nabus. "Ah, talk of the devil..."

All around the room, the doors were sliding apart, and people were pouring in. Albus had expected the noise to be deafening, but these voices did not boom out as Nabus's had done. It seemed as though the enchantments only activated at appropriate moments.

"Come with me." said Nabus, and he set off towards the far end of the table, followed by the other six. Nabus took a seat at the end of the table, and motioned for the others to sit nearby. Albus sat down between James and Rose, and Aviva sat on the opposite side with Lily and Hugo.

Looking back down the table, Albus saw all sorts of people representing countless wizarding and Muggle professions. Some of them wore the black robes of Hogwarts staff, and a few of them looked to be on the faculties of other wizarding schools; Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in the south of France, Durmstrang Institute in the far north, Washington Sorcery College in America, and many others. And professors were by no means the only people present. There were Aurors from the Ministry of Magic, Muggle policemen from several cities, businessmen, Healers, politicians, Curse-Breakers, salesmen, Obliviators, and others whose professions were not apparent in their clothing. Rob Carter had taken a seat not too far away from Albus, and the heavyset, auburn-bearded man from the battle at Hogwarts sat a few seats beyond him.

"Welcome, brothers and sisters of the Feather of Fawkes." said Nabus. He did not raise his voice above the din, but the enchantments carried it clearly to every ear in the room, and the chatter died away at once. "This conference is now in session."

Everyone turned to face Nabus. Some of them darted curious looks towards Albus and his siblings and cousins.

"As most of you will be aware, we have suffered a tragedy in the early hours of this morning. Two Stingers entered the Hogwarts grounds and murdered one of our number... Professor Julia Lantice. I ask for a moment of silence."

As one, the hundreds of people seated around the table inclined their heads. Some of them bore expressions of shock and grief. The large bearded man was trembling slightly. A few moments later, Nabus continued. "Thanks to the brave actions of other members of the Hogwarts staff, some of whom are seated here with us today, these two attackers were shortly driven away from the school. Two among the defenders' number were injured, but they will make full recoveries.

"Most significant of all, however, the alleged purpose of this attack—that they had come to Hogwarts to weed out those members of staff whose allegiances lie with us—was only a tiny part of their mission. Their true aim, which I can happily claim was not fulfilled, was the capture of these five children sitting next to me."

Once again, the people around the table craned their necks to get a good look at Albus and his companions.

"These youngsters—James, Albus, and Lily Potter, as well as Rose and Hugo Weasley—have arrived here from the distant past. To be precise, they have arrived from the twenty-first century."

Rose gasped, clutching at her face in horror. Albus remembered what she had said about the disastrous consequences they would face if the knowledge that they were from the past became widely known. However, the transfer of this knowledge to the hundreds of people gathered here seemed not to have had any effect, given that he had neither died nor been erased from history. He supposed that, as long as the people who knew could be trusted with the secret, the five of them would be okay.

"How the Circle came to be aware of these children and why they want them, I do not know. However, I do know that it will be our duty to ensure their safety. They have fallen into our hands, and we must protect them."

Small murmurs of assent rippled around the table.

"The question is," Nabus continued, "what do we do with them? I hereby open the floor to discussion and debate."

Rob rose to his feet. "I think one good place to start will be the question of whether they should be taken back to Earth, or sent somewhere else off-planet."

"We'll certainly have more options available if we choose to hide them on Earth." said a gray-haired Muggle woman at the other end.

"We may wish to rule out that possibility," said the heavyset bearded man, "given that Earth's efficient internal infrastructure will enable the Stingers to conduct a more thorough search."

There was an outbreak of muttering at this.

"All the same...the Circle may be expecting us to operate under that logic." said a short, wiry man wearing the scarlet robes of a Durmstrang professor.

"I'd say we should maintain a balance." said Aviva. "Wherever we send them ought to be out of the way, but not so remote and sparsely populated that they can't blend in with the crowd if the Stingers come to call."

There was a murmur of general agreement.

"Well, if that's our plan," said Nabus, "our best bet will probably be to send them to one of the larger off-Earth settlements. I believe that the most sensible choices would be the dome colonies at the bottom of the Europa oceans, the Republic of Mariner Valley, or Nereid City."

"We shouldn't send them to the Galilean satellites." protested an Auror. "They'd be too close to headquarters; it would only be a hop, skip, and jump away if the Stingers discovered this place."

"True, true." said Nabus. "Well, then, we won't send them to Europa. That leaves Mariner Valley and Nereid City."

"Both would be good choices." said Aviva. "I think we should leave it to the kids to choose which one."

"I agree." said Nabus, turning towards Albus and his friends. "Well? Which settlement sounds more appealing to you?"

"What are the benefits of each?" asked Rose in a shaky voice. Evidently, she was still terrified by the knowledge that hundreds of people now knew their secret.

"Well, given that it's in the Neptune satellite system, I'd say Nereid City is a bit more concealed. However, it's not as big, so we couldn't hide you there quite as easily." said Nabus. "Now, if we sent you to Mariner Valley, you'd be in a more heavily populated area, and we could set up an ordinary life for you. You would live with one of us, and you could attend the Mariner Valley Academy of Magic under false names. Nobody would suspect a thing. However, it might be a bit harder for you to adjust...life in Nereid City would be more low-key."

Albus mulled it all over. Both seemed sensible choices. He glance over at Rose, who seemed equally torn. Lily and Hugo simply looked confused. James, however, seemed to have his mind made up. "Mariner Valley." he said. "Definitely."

"Don't you think we ought to discuss it first?" asked Rose.

"There's nothing to discuss." said James. "In Mariner Valley, we could start a new life. We'll adjust to living here, and be able to pretend we're ordinary. That's gotta be the best thing to do, at least until we can find a way back to our own time."

"But, James, it's not that simple." said Rose. "There's more to consider than our own comfort. We need to think about our safety. Remember, a terrorist network is after us!"

"We'll be able to attend a magic school." said James eagerly. "We can learn the secrets of the future. We can learn stuff from our time, too. Tell me that's not better than hanging around on Nereid."

"I hadn't thought of it that way." said Rose.

"What about you, Albus? You'll back me up, right?" said James.

Albus thought for a moment. On one hand, if they hadn't listened to James, Scorpius wouldn't have lured them into the Forbidden Forest in the first place. But on the other hand, James made a convincing case...and, as Nabus had said, both places were reasonably safe...

Albus looked back at James, and nodded.

"Good!" beamed James. "Lily? Hugo?"

The two of them nodded.

"Then it's settled." said Nabus. "Mariner Valley it is. Conference adjourned!"


	6. Mariner Valley Academy

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 6: Mariner Valley Academy**

"Well, here we are, gang." said James. "Our new life begins."

Two days ago, the Feather of Fawkes had sent Albus and his friends to the Republic of Mariner Valley on Mars. They had expected to find a network of space stations and hi-tech bases much like the place they had left.

That was not what awaited them.

When they had stepped out of the Warp Pod, they thought that there must have been a mistake. This vast, spectacular city couldn't be in an enormous Martian canyon; it was far too lively, too vibrant, too colorful. But no, there was no mistake. A sign above one of the buildings read "Mariner Valley Hotels".

"I'll take you to my house." said Aviva, beckoning to Albus and his friends, who were gazing in awe at their surroundings; the rich, purple-tinged sky, the magnificent trees lining the city streets, the bustle of wizards and Muggles as they navigated the roads and sidewalks...

"Mars was one of the first extraterrestrial sites to be heavily populated." Aviva explained, as the five children looked around once more at the intermingled magical and non-magical activity, which seemed no different than it was in Hogsmeade. "In your time, some Muggles dreamed of visiting Mars, and of terraforming it so that humans could live there comfortably, but most saw it as a hopeless pipe dream. It was made possible with magic."

"Aviva, why don't we just Apparate to your house?" asked James.

"This place is going to be your home for a while." replied Aviva. "I thought it might make more sense to show you the sights right now."

Albus froze in his tracks. He hadn't thought of it that way, but, of course, this _would_ be their home for a while. As James had said back on Jupiter, they would be starting a new life here.

"Come on, Al!" said James, beckoning to Albus. Albus started, and jogged forwards, falling back into step beside Lily and Aviva.

After a few minutes, they found themselves leaving the city, to be confronted with the spectacular sight of Mariner Valley itself. It was as though the ground simply sloped down forever, plunging into a foggy abyss. The valley itself, however, was covered in lush, green vegetation and dotted here and there with houses and other structures. It looked rather like a misty, grassy version of the Grand Canyon, only hundreds of times bigger.

"I live only a few miles down in the valley." said Aviva, turning onto a narrow dirt track that sloped steeply downwards. "You would need magical transport to reach the bottom. As it is, we have a bit of a walk."

The whole place was breathtaking. Albus had never seen anywhere quite so strange and beautiful. Every now and then, they would pass by someone heading in the opposite direction along the path. One or two of them gave them cheerful greetings. In the main, however, people seemed to prefer flying to walking in Mariner Valley; Albus saw countless people swooping across the sky on broomsticks and strange machines that looked like helicopters without any rotors.

Several more minutes passed before they finally arrived at Aviva's house, a small cottage resembling Rob's. The resemblance increased as they entered the house. "Feel free to do a bit of exploring." said Aviva. "I'll set up some bedrooms. Let's see...James and Albus, you can sleep in the living room. Rose, Hugo, I've got a guest room you can use. Lily, you can share with me. I advise you to get some rest for the next two days; after that, term starts at the Mariner Valley Academy, and we'll be enrolling you there."

This had all happened a few days ago. Now, Albus and his friends were standing outside the Mariner Valley Academy. Though the campus was magnificent, it was completely different from Hogwarts. The buildings were made of brick and marble, and the grounds were covered in trees. A few children were already here, chatting with friends, bemoaning the end of the summer holidays, teasing one another about their new clothes and hairstyles. It all seemed so...normal. Albus was beginning to think that adjusting to this new life might not be so hard after all.

He followed Aviva up the marble steps of the largest building and through the doors into a vast, opulent room full of comfortable-looking armchairs and beautiful sculptures. Large windows at the top of the walls cast a bright glow on the scene. An elderly woman sat behind a desk on the other side of the room.

"Ah, Miss Gregarum." said the woman, glancing up to look at Aviva. "How lovely to see you again."

"I attended this school myself when I was a girl." Aviva explained to the group. "Mrs. Colbstein has been here for many years; she used to teach Charms, but eventually she semiretired to take up a desk job; less stressful, you see."

"Yes, yes...couldn't face the task of teaching little monsters like you, Miss Gregarum!" chimed in Mrs. Colbstein. Aviva laughed goodnaturedly.

"So...what brings you here today?" inquired Mrs. Colbstein.

"I'm here to drop off the transfer students." said Aviva, gesturing to the party beside her.

"Ah, yes...well, come with me, dearies...I'll give you a tour of the school. Goodbye, Miss Gregarum!"

Aviva turned and left.

Albus felt a bit nervous. He racked his brains to remember the false identities Aviva had given him and his friends. _My name is Dirk...Dirk Underdale_, he thought. _My brother and sister are Quentin and Lauren Underdale...Rose and Hugo are no longer my cousins. Their names are Jessica and Aidan Strongwood, but I don__'t know them. We just both went to Hogwarts._ This last part, of course, was not entirely dishonest...they _had _been at Hogwarts...over two thousand years ago.

"Now then, children," said Mrs. Colbstein, as the group stepped back outside. "As you can see, the Mariner Valley Academy is divided into three buildings: the one we just exited, and those two over there." She pointed to a pair of identical, large, stone buildings, set with narrow, tall windows, which looked elegant and almost palatial.

"The one on the left is Halsef Hall, and the other is Corelli Hall. They are named after the two founders, a Muggle named Cormack Halsef and a wizard named Giancarlo Corelli, who wished to create a school that put equal emphasis on magical and non-magical education. In their day, of course, most schools just taught one or the other. Even today, many schools are mainly magical or non-magical. But Mariner Valley Academy has always stressed the pursuit of _all_ knowledge.

"So...here's how the academy is structured." she continued. "The building we were just in is called South Hall. It is the location of the dormitories, the administrative offices, and the refectory, so you will be spending a great deal of time there. In the mornings, half of our students go to Halsef Hall, where they attend non-magical classes such as Science, Math, Social Studies, and such. The other half attend Corelli Hall, and learn Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and other magical courses. Lunch is served in South Hall at noon, and then the students switch halls. Each day, you will have two classes in Halsef Hall and two classes in Corelli Hall. Each course is worth two credits, and spans two quarters. Students are expected to obtain sixteen credits a year. Do you understand all of that?"

Albus nodded along with his friends. It sounded like a challenging school...precisely what he would need to keep himself occupied.

"Excellent." said Mrs. Colbstein, turning to head back into South Hall and beckoning to the five of them. "Very well then; I will show you to your dormitories. Dirk, Quentin, and Aiden; you will share a room with a fourth resident, while Jessica and Lauren will have another to themselves across the hall."

The room was small, musty, and strewn with dirty robes and dog-eared textbooks. Two bunk beds were set against opposite walls, and each one was accompanied by a large chest of drawers. A single window, set in the wall between the bunk beds, filled the room with sunlight. And another boy, who looked to be as old as Albus, was sitting on the bottom of one of the bunk beds, reading a magazine.

"Kramer, these are your new roommates, Dirk and Quentin Underdale, and Aiden Strongwood." said Mrs. Colbstein, addressing the boy, before turning to leave. "Jessica, Lauren, let me show you _your_ room..."

The boy put down his magazine, and surveyed Albus, James, and Hugo. He was tall and wiry, with shoulder length blond hair and a heart-shaped face.

"Hey, how's it going?" he said, standing up and raising his arm, bumping fists with each of them in turn. "I'm Kramer Grove."

"Dirk Underdale." said Albus, as his brother and cousin also introduced themselves with their false names.

"So, uh...do you like it here?" asked Hugo, somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh, they keep our noses to the grindstone." laughed Kramer. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. It's the best school there is. Where are you from?"

"Hogwarts." said James.

"Ah." said Kramer. "Another fantastic school...though there's almost no emphasis on non-magical studies. Granted, that might be more fun...I personally enjoy the classes in Corelli a lot more." He sighed dramatically. "But there's no denying it's practical to learn everything. Tell me, why'd you lot transfer?"

"Um..." said Albus slowly, his mind working furiously, "Well, it's like you said. Our parents thought it would make more sense to learn everything."

"Oh, so you and the two girls know each other well?"

Albus shook his head. "Our two families didn't know each other. We just got transferred at the same time."

And so, the four of them talked on and on. Albus had quickly taken to Kramer; so much, in fact, that he was feeling increasingly guilty that they were lying to him. But, as he constantly reminded himself, they had no choice. Unless they wanted to risk a visit from the Stingers, they would have to constantly adhere to their new identities.

By the time they had finally exhausted their conversations about school, about strange musical groups and popular technology that Albus and his friends only pretended to understand, and, most awkward of all, their lives, the light streaming through the window was suffused with a faint golden tinge. All at once, a screeching wail cut across the grounds of the academy.

"Ah! Time for a meal." said Kramer enthusiastically. "Follow me."

Soon, Albus, James, Hugo, and Kramer had joined up with Lily and Rose, and the six of them joined a throng of students heading through a set of vast stone doors into a magnificent banquet hall. There were about twenty tables, each about a quarter the length of the house tables at Hogwarts. They were covered in decorative white tablecloths and already loaded with food.

The feast in South Hall was easily as delicious as those at Hogwarts had been, but far different. Here and there, Albus saw food he recognized, but most of it was completely unfamiliar, presumably invented after his time. There were creamy stews that tasted unlike anything Albus had ever eaten, but which he enjoyed tremendously. Odd cuts of meat in strange seasonings were heaped upon great platters every few seats along the tables. There were strange, edible corkscrews with a rich, hearty taste; sweet gold and brown lumps of bread; sweet, frothing beverages that seemed to leap about in Albus's stomach whenever he took a gulp.

The puddings were even stranger. There were translucent, green, spiky crystals which crunched when Albus bit into them, yet melted in his mouth almost at once, leaving a strong, sweet taste; magnificent milkshakes so thoroughly bedecked in toppings that they extended a full two feet above their glasses, looking like absurd, multicolored beehives; elaborate sculptures made out of candies and sweets, some of which looked completely alien, others which Albus recognized from Honeydukes Sweetshop and even a few of the more mild trick candies from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Most bizarre and wonderful of all, there were miniature rockets made of sugar and icing, which zoomed around the heads of students on trails of powdered sugar, some making beelines for their mouths, others bursting in spectacular fireworks displays of frosting. Albus left the banquet hall with his friends, more stuffed than he could remember feeling in his life.

"That was incredible!" exclaimed Albus, gingerly rubbing his stomach. "I've never had anything like that. Not even at Hogwarts!"

"It's rarely that extravagant." said Kramer. "That was the welcoming feast, wasn't it? Our chefs pull out all the stops on special occasions like these. In fact, that's why there was no lunch today; they like us to be nice and hungry for the welcoming feast. But the food is still excellent during regular meals, don't worry."

Albus didn't fall asleep for a long time. He lay on the bunk above Kramer, staring at the ceiling, thinking about his classes tomorrow. Now, more than ever, he was beginning to feel that he and his siblings and cousins would be able to live a normal life here.

Classes for Albus and his friends began early next morning in Corelli Hall after a hasty breakfast. Albus had expected that whatever future magical principals were common knowledge to his classmates would make it difficult to keep up, but he actually found the classes easier than his work at Hogwarts had been.

In Charms and Transfiguration, he quickly learned that the theory and techniques they were supposed to memorize was simpler and more effective than it had been under his Hogwarts professors. For example, Switching Spells became far easier when the wand was directed in a curling thrust, rather than the counterclockwise twirl Professor McGonagall had taught him. Evidently, in the past two thousand years, wizards had devised simpler and more powerful ways of performing the same magic.

Slightly harder to master were the strange charms that had presumably been invented after Albus's time. As Albus had never even heard of these spells before, he was often behind the class when it was time to practice them. Occasionally, a student sitting near him would snicker at Albus's ignorance when he was forced to ask for more information on Inversion Spells or Essence Circumventing Charms.

Potions, on the other hand, was invariably easier. He had always struggled somewhat in Professor Slughorn's classes at Hogwarts. Making this all the more awkward was the fact that, because he was Harry Potter's son, the Potions Master had been keen on establishing him within his "Slug Club", and had expected him to share his father's potion-making aptitude. Albus's father's potions brilliance came largely from the fact that he had been using the old potions book of Slughorn's predecessor, Severus Snape, who had scribbled his own self-devised potion-making shortcuts in the margins. As Albus had not owned any such textbook, he had never had the same success in potions, and although Professor Slughorn continually praised his efforts, Albus could tell that the Potions Master was sorely disappointed.

On the other hand, not only did the wizened old Potions Master in Corelli Hall lack the inflated expectations Professor Slughorn had shown, but, just as in Charms and Transfiguration, the commonly accepted potion recipes had been made simpler and more effective than they had been in Albus's time. He was by no means top of the class, but Albus's concoctions generally received high marks.

Just as it had been at Hogwarts, Defense Against the Dark Arts was Albus's favorite subject at the Mariner Valley Academy. He delighted in learning new counter-jinxes, hexes, and protective spells, and practiced all of them with great enthusiasm. All of the old magic—Shield Charms, Reductor Curses, Impediment Jinxes, Disarming Spells, and so on—were still taught, and Albus often knew how to cast these spells already, though the practice sessions improved his skill. Additionally, however, Albus was introduced to entirely unfamiliar defensive spells, such as Essence Diminishing Charms, Arm-Binding Curses, and Proprioceptive Reversing Jinxes. These he learned with eager interest, and in no time at all, he had established himself as the best in his class.

There could be no question that Albus enjoyed Defense Against the Dark Arts, but there was another reason why he was working so hard in his lessons. Albus knew that the Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery was surely still looking for him and his siblings and cousins. If the Stingers came barging in one day, it made sense to learn as much as possible about defending himself. However, he made herculean efforts to avoid that thought. The Feather of Fawkes had concealed their identities well, and as long as he continued to pretend to be Dirk Underdale, he had no reason to worry.

The non-magical courses in Halsef Hall were nowhere near as fun. Albus had never taken a muggle class before, and he found the concepts of mathematics, science, and technological studies difficult. In fact, students were not even permitted to carry their wands to classes in Halsef Hall, something that Albus found both irritating and nerve-wracking. Ever since he had bought his wand from Ollivanders' two years ago (or was it 2,300 years ago?), he had never gone anywhere without it, and with good reason. It was basic common sense for any witch or wizard to hold on to his or her wand at all times; it was the most fundamental tool for just about anything.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, Albus became quite used to life at Mariner Valley Academy. Kramer Grove had become a firm friend to Albus. In the first few weeks, although Kramer did not know it, he had served as an indispensable guide to the time period, revealing all sorts of information about the forty-fourth century through their chats. By the time Albus was confident in his knowledge of the way this future world worked, he and Kramer had formed a strong bond. They ate meals together, paired up at the same tables in classes, helped each other with their homework, and often stayed up late into the night, talking about their days and roaring with laughter at each others' jokes, as James and Hugo surveyed them with amusement.

One day, Albus, Rose, Kramer were in an Earth Science class in Halsef Hall, lazily examining their handouts on various cloud formations, when there came an urgent, hammering knock at the door to the classroom. Their teacher, a young, blond woman by the name of Professor Tarrese, got up and walked to the door. She opened it, and Aviva staggered inside.

The entire class stared at the visitor in shock, dropping their notes and papers. Professor Tarrese gasped, her hands over her mouth. Aviva's body was covered in foot-long gashes and angry weals, her clothing torn, and she was shaking from head to foot. She fell flat on her face, twitching horribly.

Albus and Rose sprang from their seats and dashed over to her. "What happened? Who did this to you?" shouted Albus, gingerly turning her over and looking into her face.

Aviva's unfocused eyes found Albus staring at her. Gasping for breath, she raised her head a fraction, and managed to choke out four words.

"They know. They're coming."

She coughed, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. Then, suddenly, she slumped back down to the floor, her lifeless, unseeing eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Professor Tarrese looked down at Aviva's body, rigid with horror. With a sudden intensity, Albus stood up and walked over to the teacher. "We've got to get out of here. Now. Everyone. Evacuate the school."

"What?" blustered Professor Tarrese. She plainly had no idea what to do. "Why..."

"You heard her! They're coming!"

"What...I mean...who's coming?"

"Albus!" screamed Rose, pointing out of the window into the sky. Five red streaks of smoke were shooting towards the ground.

A shrill alarm rang out across the grounds of the academy, not unlike the wailing klaxon at Hogwarts.

"Run!" shouted a boy on the other side of the room.

"No!" commanded Professor Tarrese, finally regaining composure. "If we leave, we'll just run straight into them. We need to lock down the building!"

But it was too late. The entire class was stampeding out of the room, screaming and yelling, and Albus and Rose were swept up in the tide of panicking students. The hallway was also packed, and the two of them had to keep up to prevent being trampled, and Albus's only thought was to hurry back to South Hall, to race to his bedroom and grab his wand, so that he might have the slightest chance of defending himself.

Suddenly, Albus lost sight of Rose. The two of them had been pulled in different directions by the great wave of fleeing people.

All at once, Albus was outside, on the grounds, and he was freed from the great crush of bodies, but Rose was still nowhere to be seen, and there were hundreds of students running this way and that. And now, the screams of terror were punctuated by tremendous bangs, and bursts of light were flying everywhere. Albus knew that the Stingers were attacking, looking for him and his friends.

Tearing across the campus, dodging students and curses, Albus flung himself through the great doors of South Hall and sprinted down the deserted hallways. Out of breath and clutching at a stitch in his side, he pulled open the door of his room, darted across to his bedside table, and snatched up his wand.

Albus was turning to leave, when he looked out of the window and saw something that made him stop in his tracks. The students and teachers were now gathered in a vast circle. Here and there, Albus could see motionless figures. Whether they were dead or merely stunned, he had no idea. But his gaze was drawn to the figures inside the circle; four of the Stingers, each one clutching a limp figure in their arms.

"NO!" he shouted desperately, pounding on the window with all his might. He didn't know what he wanted to achieve; would he perhaps smash through the window, push through the crowd of students and teachers, and seize James, Rose, Lily, and Hugo from the clutches of the four villainous men?

As one, the four Stingers rose into the air, still clutching Albus's siblings and cousins, growing smaller and smaller until they were four black specks, and then disappearing completely.

"So there you are." Albus spun around to see a purple-robed man with a heavyset, brutal face and a deep scar across his left eye striding into the room. Albus recognized the deep, snarling voice. This was Chardmus, one of the Stingers who had killed Professor Lantice back at Hogwarts. "Albus Potter. You're the last of them...and the one my master wants the most."

He began to raise his arm. Without a second's delay, Albus swiped his wand through the air to face Chardmus, and yelled "_Proprioverso!_"

Chardmus yelled in surprise as the jinx hit him, and his arm suddenly shot back down to his side, jerking in the opposite direction that the man was trying to move it in.

Albus did not hesitate to seize his advantage. "_Stupefy!_" he bellowed, pointing his wand directly at Chardmus's chest. But Chardmus, his movements now compensating for the hex Albus had cast, blocked the Stunning Spell by casting a Shield Charm with his hand.

"_Armori Negatus!_" gasped Albus. The spell caused Chardmus's shield of energy to shatter with such tremendous force that the man staggered backwards. He recovered quickly, and roared, "_Crucio!_" The curse missed Albus by millimeters, instead hitting a post of James and Hugo's bed, which collapsed, striking Albus in the back of the head. He staggered forwards, dazed and in pain, and Chardmus leapt backwards. Albus's head was spinning, and he could do nothing to defend himself. Leering, the Stinger advanced, directing his palm at Albus.

All of a sudden, there was a flash of red light. Chardmus crumpled, falling on top of Albus. Head now clear, Albus pushed Chardmus off of him and staggered to his feet, confused.

Kramer Grove stood a few feet away, his wand drawn. "That was close." he said.

"Thank you." said Albus. "You saved me."

Kramer looked just as confused as Albus had been a second ago. "But...but hang on. He called you 'Albus Potter'."

At last, he had been exposed. Albus sighed. He owed his friend the truth. "Dirk Underdale was a false name." he said.

"You were hiding from the Stingers." said Kramer. "All five of you. Weren't you?"

Albus nodded weakly. "I've got a long and bizarre story to tell you."

And Albus explained everything. He told Kramer that he and his siblings and cousins were sent from the distant past by a fellow student. He told Kramer that for some reason, the Circle knew about them, and wanted to capture them. He told Kramer how the Feather of Fawkes had taken them in, and how they had decided this was the safest place for them.

After he had finished, he looked at Kramer, who was gazing at him in stunned silence.

"Harry Potter's son?" was all he could manage. "From the past?"

Albus nodded.

"This is so much to get my head around." said Kramer.

"I'm not so sure I've got my head around it myself." said Albus.

"And your brother and sister and cousins..."

"They were just kidnapped."

There was a long pause, during which Albus stared around the room, at the wrecked bed, at the stunned Stinger lying on the floor.

"We've got to find them." said Kramer finally. "We're going to get them back. You and me, together."


	7. Discovered

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 7: Discovered**

Albus and Kramer had spent the last few hours in their room, arguing with each other.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't allow you to come with me." said Albus severely.

"I stunned that Stinger; I'm now a part of this!" said Kramer fiercely.

Shortly after Albus had told Kramer his secret, the two of them had learned the full effects of the Stingers' attack. Four students of the Mariner Valley had perished; three had been hit by Killing Curses, and the fourth had been crushed by a falling slab of masonry dislodged from the roof of Halsef Hall by an explosion. About two dozen others had been injured. All of the other students were either with a team of grief counselors who had been summoned two hours ago, or else confined to the dormitory in South Hall.

"I've already been responsible for enough deaths since my friends and I arrived in this time." said Albus. "The Stingers killed a Hogwarts teacher looking for us. They killed Aviva while trying to find out where we were. And now, four students here are dead too. These people only died because they were in the way. When the Circle becomes aware that I have an accomplice..."

"I don't care about dying." said Kramer, and his voice was full of a burning intensity that Albus had never heard before. "I have nothing!"

"What?" said Albus.

"I didn't tell you the truth about my life either." said Kramer, his voice low and quavering. "Like you, like your brother and sister and cousins, I have been living a lie."

"You have?" Albus said incredulously.

"I'm an orphan." said Kramer. "Two years ago, the Stingers attacked the Partnership Monument. It was an enormous statue commemorating the union of wizard and Muggle society. And...and I was there, with my family. We had come from our home on Earth to see it. I remember the whole structure trembling, and…and then it began to break up, and rain down on us all."

Kramer's eyes began to water, and he looked down. "I can't explain why I lived. Luck, I suppose. It was all a blur; I can't remember much of it. Only the noise, and the terror. But...but...my parents, and my sisters...I had no one left.

"The government took charge of me. I was sent here, and the school has looked after me ever since...the only way I could stave off the horror was to pretend it had never happened...to pretend that my family was still alive, and that they had simply sent me here because they thought it would be best. There were times I had almost convinced even myself..."

Kramer looked up at Albus once more, glaring at him. "I want the Circle to pay for what it has done. For the death of my family, and for all the others who have died at their hands. I have no direction in life. All I know is pain."

Albus couldn't believe that Kramer had kept all of this from him. He had thought that his own fake identity was hard to maintain, but this...

"You, Albus...you stirred something in me that I couldn't understand at first." said Kramer. "Somehow, you eased my suffering, and made me feel like I wasn't alone. There was always something about you, but I couldn't figure out what. Now, I know what I was feeling. You and I have both suffered at the hands of the Circle. I suppose on some level, I sensed it."

"I had sensed nothing," muttered Albus glumly, patting his friend on the shoulder. "I had no idea of what you've been through. I'm so sorry, Kramer."

"So you see, Albus, there will be nothing here for me when you leave. I must come with you. It's not just about revenge. We...we need to stick together."

Albus rose to his feet. "Well, we'll have to leave now. It's not just the Stingers who will be after us. The Feather of Fawkes will chase us too; they'll be determined to protect me, and see I come to no harm."

"But that's good, isn't it?" asked Kramer.

"It should be," sighed Albus. "But there's no way they'll let us go off and try to rescue my friends. And...and they're not as powerful as the Circle is. They haven't got a hope of finding them."

The two of them opened the door and crept along the hall. They could hear muffled talking, raised voices, and crying from behind every door in the dormitory wing. Out into the elegant entrance hall they went, past the high windows and statues, and through the front doors, to find...

Nabus Rucolfix was standing at the bottom of the steps. Albus and Kramer froze.

"I knew you would do this." said Nabus, walking up the steps, taking Albus by the arm, and beginning to steer him away. "I'm sure your father would have done the same thing. But I cannot allow it."

"I have to do _something_!" snarled Albus, trying to wrench his arm free of the old man. But Nabus's grip was surprisingly strong.

"Albus, I know that you're angry and scared. But you risk revealing your true identity to the Circle."

"They already know it." said Albus. "They know where we're from, and who we are."

"I suppose they have proven that." sighed Nabus. "It's a miracle that no governments have gotten wind of your presence. But the fact remains that what you want to do is foolish and reckless, and fueled by emotion."

"Do you honestly think the Feather of Fawkes can rescue my friends?" shouted Albus. "Face it, Nabus. The Circle has the upper hand."

Nabus did not rise to the bait. "Do you honestly think that _you_ can do it?" he said.

Albus looked down, his face burning. Nabus was right. How could he, Albus, a thirteen-year-old boy, have any hope of challenging a shadowy terrorist network which possessed the strongest Dark magic of the age?

"We'll look for your friends, Albus. If we can, we'll try to rescue them. But it may not be possible." said Nabus sadly. "Even if we locate them, and if they are still alive by that time, we have no offensive weaponry or tactics that would allow us to safely strike. They would crush us, and probably uncover the location of our headquarters in the process. We must always keep sight of what is most important."

A leaden sense of hopelessness and despair was forming in the pit of Albus's stomach. The way it was looking, he would never see James, Lily, Rose, or Hugo again...unless the Stingers got him too. He almost welcomed that idea. What was left for him now? Now he knew exactly how Kramer felt.

Kramer...

"Wait, sir!" said Albus, and pointed back to his friend, who was still sitting on the steps. "Kramer Grove knows my real identity. He lost his family in the attack on the Partnership Monument. Can't he come with me?"

Nabus stopped, and considered for a moment. "We would only be endangering him by getting him roped into all of this." he said solemnly, shaking his head, and continued to pull Albus away from South Hall.

"He's already in danger." Albus said fiercely. "He saved me from a Stinger...hit him from behind with a Stunning Spell. They might come after him!"

Once again, Nabus halted in his tracks. "That changes matters." he said. "If he already got himself involved, we must protect him. Young man!" he called out. "Come with us."

Eagerly, Kramer jumped off the steps and came up to them, grinning. "Let's get you both to the headquarters." said Nabus.

A few hours later, Albus and Kramer were sitting in the vast conference room beneath the cloud bands of Jupiter. This time, only about half of the people who had been present last time were sitting at the table. Evidently, the others were currently at their jobs on the outside.

The atmosphere was heavy, miserable, as though everyone present had lost a part of themselves. Having thought of nothing but his siblings and cousins for hours, Albus had almost forgotten about Aviva, but as he gazed around at the many faces, their heads bowed, the memory of her flayed, slash-covered body came back in full measure, more real to him even than it had at the moment when he had witnessed it.

After a few minutes of silence, punctuated by weeping from various individuals up and down the table, Nabus rose to his feet.

"We must not forget that Aviva Gregarum did not die in vain." said Nabus, his voice magically magnified once again. "Though the whereabouts of the five children were forced out of her, she never revealed the information of her own will. Her brain revealed signs of magical damage that could only have been created by the most brutal kinds of Legilimency. Furthermore, when the five Stingers departed for the Mariner Valley Academy, leaving her for dead, she managed to use her remaining strength to Apparate to the school, and deliver a warning. Were it not for her final act, the Stingers would likely have taken Albus as well.

"Which brings us to an urgent matter. Where do we send Albus and his friend now? I believe that we should immediately transport them to our outpost in the crystal mines outside Nereid City, at least until we come up with a better idea. Does anyone disagree?"

No one said anything.

"Then we will act immediately." said Nabus, rising to his feet. "Albus, Kramer, come..."

Suddenly, there was an enormous BOOM, and the conference room shook violently. Shrieks filled the room, and several people toppled out of their chairs. A blaring alarm sounded, and the light in the room began to pulse red.

"The Stingers!" shouted a man. "We've been discovered!"

"Nobody panic!" bellowed Nabus, his voice thundering through the vast room. "Action stations! NOW!"

Half of the people ran to the elevators on one side of the room, and half ran to the elevators on the other side.

"Rob, take Albus and Kramer." said Nabus quickly, as Rob Carter came running towards the old man. "Only fight if you have no choice, or risk being followed. Get them to Nereid at all costs."

"Aye, sir." said Rob, then, turning to Albus and Kramer, he said, "Come with me. Quickly!"

Another BOOM, and the room juddered again. Albus and Kramer were knocked off their feet, but Rob managed to stay upright. Pulling them to their feet, he dragged them over to an elevator and hit the button. It slid open at once, and they dashed inside.

The doors closed, and the elevator began to rise a tremendous speed. Through the window in the elevator, Albus could see a dark shadow rushing towards the conference room. As it hit, the room trembled for a third time, and then the shapes were lost in the swirling clouds.

"What's going to happen?" said Albus, terrified.

"Half of the Feather of Fawkes is trained to use the cannons mounted on the sides of the space station." said Rob, "and the other half is trained to pilot the Axis ships."

"Axis ships?" said Albus, confused. "What are..."

"You're about to see for yourself." said Rob.

Albus had expected that the elevator would break the clouds, but, when they began to slow down, they were still within Jupiter's atmosphere. The doors parted to reveal what looked like an enormous, smoke-filled aircraft hangar. The hangar was completely open, yet the swirling gas outside did not seem to be seeping in. It was as though an invisible shield was keeping out Jupiter's atmosphere, ensuring the air was clear and safe to breathe. The whole place was stiflingly hot and seemed to crackle with the energy of people dashing this way and that.

Even stranger were the odd vehicles poised for launch. They looked rather like enormous gyroscopes, with propulsion jets attached to the rings, and small cabins in their centers. Each one was surrounded by people, some of them pumping chemicals into the machines, others shouting complicated incantations and waving their wands, creating flashes and ripples in the air. There were also several people seated at desks positioned around the walls of the hangar, frantically performing calculations and checking data.

"Rob Carter!" said a witch at a desk nearby, waving her wand at a computer screen and rapidly scanning the readings. "You're clear for Lane Three!"

"Come on!" said Rob, tearing across the hangar, Albus and Kramer sprinting in his wake. Rob stopped in front of one of the curious ships, this one positioned at the back of a strip demarcated by a line of blue paint and below a large, floating number three. Turning to the maintenance workers, who were not working on the ship but merely standing around it, shuffling their feet, "I can't do magic. Can you activate the ladder?"

One of them drew pointed his wand at the ship and said, "_Descendo__._" A narrow ladder appeared, leading up into the cabin. Rob tore up the steps, opened the door, and said, "Albus, Kramer, get in!"

The two of them followed Rob up the ladder, and Rob closed the hatch. There were two seats on either side of the Rob. Kramer sat on the left, while Albus took the right.

Albus looked down at the controls. Aside from a series of small buttons which seemed to control temperature and other minor settings, there were very few controls. A pair of joysticks sat side by side in the center of the panel. The joystick on the left was set into a circular groove; it seemed that, in addition to pulling it in any direction, the entire lever could be shifted across the panel in a circle. The joystick on the right looked rigid, and its groove allowed it to be moved up and down only. It also had a red button on the top.

Rob took a joystick in each hand. "Okay...let's roll!"

The ship rose gently into the air. Rob shifted the left joystick to six o'clock and pulled back. Suddenly, they sprang forwards, and flew out of the hangar, pressing Albus and Kramer into their seats.

"Magic keeps the Axis hovering when it's inside a planet's atmosphere, but when it's in space, it relies solely on physics to keep it going." Rob explained. "The left joystick controls the yaw and speed of the ship; the thruster's position is controlled by the joystick's position in the groove, and the speed by the direction of the stick itself. The right joystick controls our pitch, and the button on its end fires destructive beams of magical energy."

"Will we have to use that button?" Albus asked apprehensively.

"I hope not." said Rob. Pulling back the right joystick and pushing forward the left, Rob put the Axis into a vertical ascent. Soon, they broke through the clouds, into the blackness of space.

Kramer gasped, and pointed out Albus's window. Albus looked, and saw a large flying warship hovering above the space station they had just left. The hull was black but inlaid with many windows, and on the front of the ship Albus could see a great jagged purple star emblem, with a scarlet "C" in its center. Threads of light from the bottom of the vessel were causing small white flashes on the side of the space station, and every now and then, a small missile dropped into the cloud bands below. It was these which had hit the conference room.

"That thing is huge!" said Albus, horrified. "How many Stingers are there?"

"Not that many." said Rob, shifting the joystick to three o'clock. "Stingers are only the elite figures in the Circle. There are maybe ten or fifteen thousand men and women who also work for the organization, some of them under the Imperius Curse."

"And who's in charge of it all?" said Albus.

Rob sighed. "No one knows. They say that the Circle was created by a pair of wizards, but one of them got cold feet and was imprisoned in the dungeons of Victoria Perfectus by his partner."

"The dungeons of what?"

"The central fortress of the Circle." Rob explained.

"Where is Victoria Perfectus?"

"In the core of the Sun." said Rob. "And placed upon it are the strongest enchantments known to man. The Stingers have placed upon it protective Dark magic of incredible power. It is possible for anyone to enter Victoria Perfectus unscathed...but unless the Stingers consent to his departure, he will die if he tries to leave...exposed to the full energy of the Sun."

Albus stared at Rob, horrified. "But what about Apparition? Portkeys? Protective shields?"

"None of them work unless the person in question has been cleared to leave."

Albus sat there in silence. If his friends had been taken to this stronghold, rescuing them would be truly impossible.

"Rob...we've got trouble." said Kramer, pointing out the other window. Three small, spiky ships were following their Axis.

"Nothing for it." said Rob. "We'll have to fight."

Rob shifted the left joystick around to twelve o'clock and pulled back. The cabin swiveled around and the Axis immediately changed direction. He then squeezed the button on top of the right joystick, and, a series of brilliant streaks of light flew towards the pursuers.

Caught by surprise, two of the ships were hit. The moment the shots made contact, the lights of the vessels died completely. With no power, the ships aimlessly continued forwards, carried by their inertia. The third, however, changed direction to avoid the shot and came at the Axis from another angle.

Rob instantly swiveled the Axis to face the enemy ship, and shot upwards to avoid two throbbing red orbs of light fired at him. He responded with a volley of his own shots, and this time, they found their mark. The other ship, which had been suspended in space, went dark and hung there, immobilized.

"Good shot!" said Kramer.

"I've had a lot of practice." said Rob, as he sent the Axis heading off in a new direction. "Now, no more delays. Let's get to Nereid!"

As the Axis accelerated to tremendous speeds, Albus's mind was racing. Things now looked bleaker than they had ever been. Not only had James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo been taken by the Stingers, possibly to a fortress from which there could be no escape, but his only protector, the Feather of Fawkes, was now gravely threatened. What was happening back on Jupiter? Had the warship been defeated? Or had the Feather of Fawkes fallen?

A few hours later, the planet Neptune loomed ahead of them, its dark rings barely visible, its blue bands of gas swirling across the great body. Not long after that, they were approaching a small, dark gray moon. "This is it." said Rob.

The surface of Nereid came closer and closer. Soon, a vast mound of rock was visible. As they approached, a hole opened up in the top of the feature. Rob steered the Axis towards this hole.

Albus, Kramer, and Rob landed in a small rocky chamber, quite unlike the grand hangar they had departed from. A man stepped from the shadows, and, with a wave of his wand, caused the ladder to appear yet again.

"Rob Carter." said the man in a deep voice, as the three of them disembarked. "And...Albus and Kramer. Welcome to Nereid."

"Hello, Booker." said Rob, shaking hands with the man. "It's been a while."

"Has the Circle really found the headquarters?"

"Yes, but I don't know what's going on right now. I'm waiting for word."

"Usually it doesn't take this long to get updates on what's happening." the man called Booker commented, sounding worried.

"Usually we're not holding off an invasion." pointed out Rob.

"True...you'd think someone could keep us posted, though."

Albus and Kramer stood there, awkwardly looking around at the walls of the dark, cold chamber. "So, is that it? Do we wait?" asked Albus.

"Yes." said Rob heavily. "We wait."


	8. Magic Suppression

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 8: Magic Suppression**

The next few hours were the longest Albus had ever endured.

Nothing in Albus's life could have prepared him for the nerve-wracking experience of sitting down here in this dark stone chamber with Kramer, Rob, and Booker, desperately waiting for any news from the Feather of Fawkes. What was more, the longer they waited, the more Albus began to worry that they would _never_ hear from them. If the Circle had completely destroyed the headquarters, and killed everyone on board, there was a good chance that they would be waiting down here forever.

No...they wouldn't wait forever, Albus remembered. Half of the Feather of Fawkes had not been at headquarters when the Circle had attacked. There would be plenty of survivors. But if Nabus Rucolfix was killed or captured, that would surely be the end of it. And they would probably have to wait for days to hear the terrible news.

Everyone else seemed just as tense as Albus. Kramer was alternating between fidgeting restlessly and pacing across the chamber. Rob was still and silent, but the look on his face was grim. Booker kept shooting glances to a large, flat computer monitor in the side of the wall, which remained black and silent.

Suddenly, the silence was broken. "There! We're getting something!" shouted Booker, pointing at the monitor, which had just winked to life. "Contact Approaching." said a cool female voice issuing from the monitor.

"Conjure Contact." said Booker.

Albus and Kramer gasped. Nabus Rucolfix had just stepped out of the screen, and was standing in front of them.

"Sir! Boy, am I glad to see you here!" said Albus excitedly.

"Well, technically I'm not exactly 'here'" said Nabus.

"But...when Rob conjured an old newspaper out of his screen back at Hogwarts, it was real!" said Albus, confused.

"Yes, well, it doesn't work on people." said Nabus. "Are you familiar with the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration?"

"Food, potions, magical artifacts, souls, and people." said Albus. "Rose told me. But what does that have to do with it? Isn't this just like Apparition?"

"Oh, no." said Nabus. "What the computer wants to do is Vanish me and Conjure a copy of me somewhere else. But that's impossible, because people cannot be Vanished and Conjured at will. So the program merely creates a convincing hologram."

Albus marched up to the old man and tried to touch him. He had expected he would be unable to, but to his surprise, he found Nabus was solid. "But I can touch you." he said. "So how can you be a hologram?"

"Why should my being a hologram mean you cannot touch me?" replied Nabus.

"Right." said Albus, confused. "But forget about that. What happened?"

"Headquarters is destroyed." said Nabus solemnly.

"Destroyed?" shouted Rob.

"Some of us were killed." said Nabus, looking grave. "But most survived. We have all fled to our outposts in other parts of the solar system, and managed to stop the Stingers from tailing us. But I have worse news. They suspect you are here."

Kramer gasped. Booker looked appalled. "Well, then we've got to get out of this place!" said Albus.

"No." said Nabus sharply. "It is imperative that you remain here."

"What?"

"Though they have guessed you are on Nereid, they do not know exactly where." said Nabus. "They have not arrived yet, but once they do, they will be looking for any trace of magic besides the activity in Nereid City, and the force field that keeps this moon warm enough to support life."

"Can't we just go there, then? We'd blend in with the other magic."

"We can't do that; look what happened last time you weren't under the Feather of Fawkes's protection. We can't just move the whole base there, so you're stuck."

"Stuck?"

"If you try to use any means of magical escape, you'll be tracked. If you use any magic at all, you'll be discovered. Your only option is to stay down there and refrain from using any magic at all."

"But all of our technology runs off magical energy!" protested Booker.

"You have emergency non-magical supplies for situations like this." said Nabus. "Now, you need to shut down everything magical immediately. The Stingers are on their way."

Nabus vanished. The computer screen went black. Booker and Rob just stood there.

"Come on! You heard them!" said Albus. "Turn off all the magic stuff!"

Booker and Rob dashed for a door in the wall. "Come on!" said Rob, beckoning to Albus and Kramer, who promptly followed suit.

They dashed through chambers and hallways, all of which were made of the same dark stone as the first, turning off everything they could see and uttering hasty explanations to the indignant men and women in other rooms. At last, all that remained was a small room off one of the main halls, the glowing word EMERGENCY casting faint red light over the four of them. "This is it." said Booker. "The non-magical supplies are in here."

Turning off the glowing sign and briefly casting everything into pitch-blackness, Rob swung open the door into a dimly illuminated room full of materials.

"Everyone take a flashlight." instructed Booker, pulling out one of several identical boxes. They did so, and flicked them on. As they did so, Booker flipped off the light in the room.

"There we are." he said. "Everything magical has been deactivated."

The finality of his statement seemed to press in on everyone in the room.

"Now, I'm sure you're all hungry." Booker said, shining his flashlight on another group of boxes and pulling one out. It was full of small bars wrapped in plastic. "These may not look like much, but they'll nourish you right up."

Albus suddenly realized just how starving he was. He snatched up one of the bars and ate it in two bites. The bar had absolutely no taste, but was pleasantly chewy, and once it had disappeared, Albus was surprised to find that his hunger had disappeared along with it.

"Now it's time to get some rest." said Booker, pulling out several blankets. "Go find somewhere you're comfortable sleeping, and I'll distribute some more of these supplies among the other agents in the base."

The following days felt like an endless nightmare. There was nothing for Albus and Kramer to do but sit around, shining their flashlights around the rooms, wondering where it would all end, or if they would ever be able to leave. Eat, sleep, worry...these activities consumed him in a merciless loop from which he could not escape.

As time wore on, Albus began to feel more and more as though he was holding back a great tide of energy. Whenever he held his wand, he had to will himself not to twirl it absentmindedly. He soon stopped holding his wand altogether, instead keeping it rolled up in the blankets he was sleeping in, only removing it whenever it was time to rest, during which he would keep his wand on a nearby table. Even without his wand, however, Albus still felt like he was forcibly restraining his magic. Every now and then, Kramer would look at Albus, unnerved, and Albus would in turn realize that he had been muttering incantations under his breath without realizing it.

He began to think of Albus Dumbledore's sister, Ariana, who had, out of her sensitivity and fear, attempted to suppress her magic ever since she had been set upon by a gang of Muggle children when she was young...how her internalized powers had driven her insane. Was this happening to him? Would he, too, eventually lose his mind in the attempt to keep his abilities at bay?

But nobody seemed to understand or even sympathize with his troubles. All of the other people hiding beneath Nereid—Kramer, Booker, and the dozens of others—seemed perfectly capable of simply putting away their wands and thinking no more of it.

"Just don't think about magic...that's all there is to it." said Kramer, after Albus had asked him how he could stand going this long without casting a spell.

"That's exactly the problem." said Albus, frustrated. "Every time I stop actively forcing myself not to use magic, I just sort of start trying, without conscious thought. I _have_ to think about magic...or rather, about not using it."

The two of them sat down on the stone floor, aimlessly fidgeting with their flashlights, causing beams of light to dance across the walls in intricate patterns.

"It's like...I don't know..." Albus was struggling to find the right words, "like there's some kind of anxious energy bursting to get out of me."

"What did you expect?" countered Kramer, shining his light up at the domed ceiling of their chamber. "We're trapped down here, beneath the surface of this barren, desolate moon, with no news, while a powerful terrorist organization is watching the area and waiting for us to give away our exact position. We're all anxious."

"It's not that." said Albus. "I mean, yes, that's certainly bad enough, but...this is different. Something more."

Kramer shrugged. "Well, I'm not feeling it." he said. "I'm just bored out of my mind, and...Albus, what are you doing?"

Albus gave a start. He had been twirling and waving his flashlight in complex patterns, exactly like a wand.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." he said, putting down his flashlight. "I just can't stop myself from doing that."

"I dunno." said Kramer, sighing. "I guess I can't help you."

Later that day, Albus took his worries to Rob, who was spending most of his time in the launch chamber, staring at the computer monitor, even though they had no chance of receiving any information without power.

"Rob?" said Albus, entering the room, and promptly setting his flashlight down on a table so that he would not start fidgeting with it again.

"Yeah?" he said gruffly, turning to look at him, and casting his own flashlight in his direction.

"I've been having a lot of trouble keeping myself from doing magic." he said. "Do you have any advice?"

Rob looked confused. "You're having trouble keeping yourself from doing magic?" he said. "But the use of magic is a conscious decision. Just try to involve yourself with something else."

It was more or less the same advice that Kramer had given him, and he was starting to feel intensely irritated that nobody could understand his difficulty. "There's nothing else to do here." said Albus. "And anyway, it's not that simple. Unless I'm constantly telling myself _not_ to use magic, I'll find myself trying to do it."

"But then you can't carry your wand with you." said Rob sharply. "You could endanger us all."

"I stopped carrying my wand a while ago." said Albus. "But I'll often still be sitting there and suddenly realize that I've been whispering spells, or else waving something as though it's my wand. I just can't control it."

Rob looked relieved. "Well, that's not so bad. If you aren't using a wand, your magical power isn't amplified to useable levels, and won't be detectable."

"But that still doesn't explain why I'm doing it in the first place!" said Albus. "You don't think..." he paused, looking for the right words. Rob knew so much magical history; he would certainly know what he was talking about. "You don't think I could be going the same way as Ariana Dumbledore, do you?"

Rob frowned for a second before his face lit up with comprehension. "Ariana Dumbledore? Of course not."

"But, if I'm constantly holding back my magic..."

"This is completely different." said Rob firmly. "Ariana Dumbledore was always a sensitive girl, and she was trying to suppress her magic without any knowledge of how to actually control it. She was not as strong as her own powers. You...well, I honestly have no idea what's going on, but I assure you, you aren't going mad."

But Albus wasn't convinced. The feelings grew progressively worse, and whatever Albus did, he seemed to have less and less control. He was quite sure that he was fighting a losing battle. Something had to give.

Albus was beginning to have nightmares. Each night, he dreamed of terrifying, shadowy, faceless creatures bearing down upon him. But the magic wouldn't come, now that he desperately needed it, to defend himself, to ward them off, to fight. He would point his wand at the creatures, and shout incantations, but nothing happened. When his wand didn't work, he tried to flee, only to be confronted with another monster. He always woke up as the monsters were on the point of catching him, but the nightmares returned whenever he fell asleep again.

One night, his visions were particularly terrifying. There were vast chimaeras that sucked on the surrounding air like Dementors, dragons with the legs of spiders, amorphous things that reached towards him...

Then, all of a sudden, something new happened...something Albus had never seen before in his dreams.

The monsters abruptly backed off, and from the mist, a tall, thin figure emerged. He was cloaked in a deep purple hood, his face completely invisible. Yet Albus new instinctively who this was...the mysterious leader of the Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery.

"Albus Potter." said the figure. Something about the voice was oddly familiar.

Albus raised his wand high above his head. This time, it must not fail him. His magic _must_ work! Yet as he began to bring his wand slashing down to cast a curse at the figure, it disintegrated in his hands, turning to dust which was promptly scattered to the wind.

The figure laughed mirthlessly, and Albus felt the most powerful emotion yet to plague him in his nightmares. It wasn't fear. It was rage.

"You will see me soon, Albus!" called the figure. "Your siblings and cousins already have. Why not join them? I would like nothing more than to meet you...to talk to you...to discuss the future..."

Albus advanced on the figure. He didn't know what he was going to do. He had no wand, no way to defend himself, no plan...

"Now is not the time." chided the figure. "First, you must wake up. _Then_ you may search for me. I will not make it difficult."

And, as the figure stepped back into the mist and vanished, Albus thrust his arms forward, just as the Stingers had done, and from his palms there came a blinding jet of light.

There was a tremendous explosion. The ground trembled. And suddenly, Albus's eyes snapped open. He was still holding up is arms, his palms forward...and, following the direction they were pointing, Albus saw, through a thick cloud of dust, a blackened crater in the ceiling.

"What in the name of Merlin..." came Rob's voice. He and Booker were standing in the doorway, their eyes traveling from Albus to the crater, then to his wand, which was lying several feet away on a table. Kramer was sitting bolt upright, staring at Albus in shock.

"What happened?" demanded Rob, dashing over to Albus.

"I...I don't know." he gasped, frightened and confused. "I was having a dream, and I...I woke up like this."

"How did you cast that Blasting Curse without a wand?" shouted Booker, who sounded as though he was experiencing a vast and unusual combination of emotions. "That's the Stingers' best-kept secret...how to channel powerful magic through one's own body instead of through a third-party object! How did you do it?"

"I told you, I have no idea!" said Albus, springing to his feet. "But we're in danger now, aren't we?"

"If the Stingers were watching—and I'd bet my life they were—that was exactly what they were looking for!" confirmed Rob. "They'll know our exact location. They're probably on their way right now. We've got to get out. Get _everyone_ out!"

"How?" said Booker hopelessly, pacing around frantically. "We have nowhere near enough Axes to get everyone in this base out, and it would take too long to launch them all even if we did!"

"We can use the Warp Pods." said Rob. "There are how many people here? Twenty or so? If we activated all five, we could get out quickly."

"But they'll know where we've gone!" said Booker. "Someone will need to remain behind to deactivate the templates!"

"I'll do it." said Rob. "Once you're all out, I'll erase the templates, then manually Apparate to the surface and take refuge in Nereid City. I'll be all right. Just get everyone up!"

Booker tore off to rouse everyone else, while Rob dashed in the opposite direction to set up the Warp Pods. Lights flicked on throughout the base, restoring it to the livelihood Albus had seen when they first arrived. Soon, people were pouring out of other rooms, shouting questions and commanding others to follow them.

Rob's voice came from a room at the end of the hall. "I've got them all set up! Hurry!"

Everyone stampeded for the door. "Albus! Kramer! Where are you?" shouted Booker from somewhere ahead. The two of them leapt forward, but at that moment, they were seized from behind by two pairs of hands, and pulled into the feeling of intense compression and darkness that accompanied Apparition. When the sensation lifted, Albus turned to see who had hold of them, and saw, with a thrill of horror, two Stingers, each holding one of them."

"You've proved elusive." said the pale, gaunt Stinger holding Albus, who, upon hearing his voice, instantly recognized him as Vega, Chardmus's companion from the attack on Hogwarts. "But you couldn't hide forever!"

"As for you," said the other, a sneering woman with fiery orange curls of hair who was holding Kramer, "Could you possibly be the accomplice that stunned Chardmus when his back was turned?"

"You killed my family." snarled Kramer, struggling against the female Stinger's hold.

"Am I to take that as a _yes_?"

"You spend too much time asking questions, Whelmuran." said Vega, gripping Albus tightly. "It isn't important. All we need to do is get them to Victoria Perfectus."

"Aren't you going to beg for your life?" cackled the Stinger called Whelmuran. Kramer remained silent, though he redoubled his efforts to break free. Whelmuran shoved him to the ground and shouted, "_Crucio!_"

Kramer thrashed and howled, unable to get up.

"Enough!" shouted Vega. With a_ bang_, the curse was lifted, but before Kramer could do anything else, ropes appeared out of thin air and bound him tight.

"There'll be plenty of time for that _after_ we've brought them back." said Vega. "We cannot delay. Think how furious our master will be Albus slips through our grasp again."

"Right." said Whelmuran, somewhat sulkily.

She seized hold of Kramer again, and, all of a sudden, the ground dropped out from beneath their feet. The two Stingers were rising into the sky, dragging Albus and Kramer with them. They shot off into space, gathering speed, accelerating tremendously. The brilliant, shining dot of the Sun slowly began to grow larger and larger. Albus knew exactly what was happening.

They were being taken on a one-way trip to Victoria Perfectus.


	9. Reunited

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 9: Reunited**

Albus felt more angry than frightened. After all those decisions, all the people who had died, all the places he and his friends had gone to flee the Circle, they had still caught up with him in the end. All their best efforts had made no difference. It was so horrendously, monstrously unfair.

Albus looked around. The stars were hardly moving at all as they shot through space, but a few celestial bodies...which Albus knew to be planets and moons...were creeping across the heavens as the Stingers continued their flight towards the Sun...towards Victoria Perfectus. He could not breathe...although, due to some unknown enchantment, that didn't seem to matter. It was as though he no longer needed air. And, though he knew that outer space was freezing cold, he felt quite warm.

After a couple of hours had passed, the Sun was growing large and dazzling. "_Obscuro Illuminatus!_" he heard Vega and Whelmuran shout together, and everything grew dim. It seemed as though the spell protected them from the blinding glare.

Half an hour later, they were speeding towards the churning, fiery surface of the Sun. The star was so big that Albus had no real way of knowing how far away they were from impact.

Eventually, they broke the surface, plunging into a blinding sea of white. Albus felt only a slight increase in temperature. A few minutes later, they emerged into what seemed to be a bubble of emptiness, surrounded by brilliant light and swirling plasma. And, floating in the center of this bubble, there was a vast structure.

Victoria Perfectus seemed to be made of metal, and was shaped like an enormous sphere. Protruding from all over the sphere were what seemed to be towers of all shapes and sizes. It was almost as though the fortress was a miniature planet, and the towers were constructed all over its surface.

As they drew nearer to Victoria Perfectus, a circular set of doors became visible. The doors slid open as they approached, closing once more after the four of them were inside.

Whelmuran clapped her hands, and the ropes binding Kramer fell away and vanished. "Come with us," commanded Vega coldly. "Do exactly as we say. If you resist, you will be killed."

Albus and Kramer nervously walked down a long corridor, with Vega marching ahead of them and Whelmuran bringing up the rear. The corridor was made of dark metal, with small red lights inlaid along the tops of the walls, casting an eerie, scarlet glow. Albus had assumed that the walls would curve with the outer shell of the fortress, but it seemed to be the floor and ceiling that were curving. Then he realized that—of course—since the fortress was situated directly in the center of the Sun's core, the center of gravity would be in the very middle of the fortress, so everything would curve around that point instead of being oriented in a single direction.

They marched on, being driven deeper and deeper into the fortress by the two Stingers. Albus noticed that the ceilings and floors were curving more and more dramatically the deeper they went. Finally, they entered a hallway that seemed to curve right around itself in three dimensions—a large, hollow sphere which contained a smaller sphere within it. The gravity here was very peculiar; as Albus walked up the curving floor, it seemed to continually orient itself with the patch of floor Albus was standing on. There was no doubt in Albus's mind; the room they were approaching—the one in the very center of Victoria Perfectus—was the chamber of the leader of the Circle himself.

"Take the other one to the dungeons." said Vega. Whelmuran seized Kramer by the hand and pulled him away. Vega turned to Albus, leering unpleasantly.

"Our master has specifically requested a meeting with you, Albus Potter." he said, pulling open another door. "You should feel honored."

Albus walked through the door, and it slid shut behind him. He was in a dark, spherical chamber with furniture on the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"Welcome." said a voice. Albus jumped, and looked up. The individual who had spoken was standing on the ceiling, looking down at him. Most ominous of all, it was the exact same voice as the figure from Albus's dream, and the same robes. He was strongly reminded of his father's occasional glimpses into Voldemort's mind. "Have a seat."

Albus felt strangely calm. It was as though he had somehow moved past his fear and anger. Or maybe they were simply so strong that he could not truly comprehend his own emotions.

"Sit down." repeated the voice. Albus strode across the floor, which seemed to rotate under his feet until he was right next to the figure. He sat down in a chair in front of him, and the figure sat too.

The mysterious individual leaned forward. "Well...I must say I am overjoyed at this opportunity. I have been waiting a very long time to see you, Albus Potter."

"Why me?" said Albus. "How do you know me? How did you know I came from the past? Why were you so keen to kidnap me? Why have you taken my friends? _Who are you_?"

The figure laughed. "Oh, but you already know me, Potter." he said. "Though it has been years since we last laid eyes on each other...around twenty-three hundred years, as a matter of fact."

"What...you..." Albus had gone white. His mind was racing furiously, and his heart was drumming violently in his chest. "But...you don't...you aren't..."

The man reached up, and lowered his hood. A long mane of straight, blond hair framed a pale, pointed face.

"Malfoy." breathed Albus.

"It's all been sitting right in front of you the whole time, Potter!" said Scorpius Malfoy, seeming almost disappointed. "It should have been obvious."

It _had_ been obvious, Albus realized now, if only he had thought about it. All the clues fit together. Malfoy had disappeared right along with them because he had sent himself here too. The Circle had immediately known about him and his friends because its leader had sent them here in the first place. The Stingers were ordered to capture them because Malfoy wasn't finished with them. Come to think of it, even the word "Stingers" should have been a tip-off.

Neither Albus nor Malfoy said anything for several seconds. Albus finally said, more weakly, "_Why_?"

"I was young, Potter. Young and angry. The Muggles were at the root of so many of our problems...I could see that. They had persecuted us so brutally in the past, our abilities simultaneously coveted and despised, and we were forced to go into hiding because we had powers that didn't fit into their view of a perfect, orderly world. Now, even in our time, wizards work as hard as they can to keep to the shadows, never safe, always hiding. I knew things had to change. The tables had to be turned.

"Voldemort had strived for that, always. For all his faults, he came closer than anyone to my dream of a world safe for wizards. But I never got a chance to see that for myself. Your father killed Voldemort. Even my own father no longer believed in the vision. But I did...and still do."

"Right." snarled Albus, glaring at Malfoy. "So, what then?"

"At first, I wasn't planning anything in particular. I simply wanted swift, decisive revenge on you and your friends...to settle a dispute between families that goes back before our generation. I've always had a mind for magical machinery, and I thought a Time-Turner would be the ultimate means of achieving my goal; just send you to a distant time, where you would be out of the way."

"But...?"

"But as soon as I had succeeded, I grew curious. Where had I sent you? What was the world like? Perhaps, in the future, the world would have become the way it should. So I sent myself into the future, too. However, I thought it over. I would not send myself exactly where _you_ had gone. Instead, I sent myself forty years before that time."

"Which is why you're older than we are."

"Yes, exactly. But the more I found out about this future, the less I liked."

"What's wrong with it?" said Albus angrily. "Wizards and Muggles live together in harmony!"

"Precisely." snapped Malfoy, pounding the armrest of his chair. "Muggles have never been made to pay for their atrocities. And wizards came out of hiding to _help_ them! _They_ had the last laugh in this future world. It's despicable, and it's unfair. And I decided, right then and there, to change it.

"I wasn't a Hogwarts student...not anymore...but I stayed in the castle, keeping hidden from the teachers, stealing food from the house-elves down in the kitchens when I got the chance. And before long, I met another young man, precisely my age, who shared my views. We took to each other at once. We became more than friends; we were partners in a grand plan that we were only just forming.

"We ran away from Hogwarts and began to explore the world, to search for ancient clues...the ways of ancient Muggles, so that we might expose an old, forgotten weakness. But it was not ancient Muggle secrets we were to find, but ancient wizarding ones. And what secrets! They explained so much...they opened our eyes to a new world of possibilities."

"What secrets?" said Albus, a touch of curiosity intermingling with his fury and contempt now.

Malfoy acted as though he had not heard the question at all. "With these secrets, we slowly concocted a great plan...a plan to truly bring glory to wizardkind once and for all. We may have been young, but we were charismatic, and it wasn't too long before our plans fell upon the right ears. Of course, we never revealed our deepest secrets, but our ideas were endearing to an enlightened minority. We gathered quite a following over the years."

Malfoy grinned, apparently lost in memories. Then, his face darkened.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. We were opposed not only by the Muggles, but by those foolish wizards whose minds were too clouded to understand the truth. Our peaceful rise to power failed." He paused. "So we were forced to take a different approach."

"You became terrorists." muttered Albus, his hands curling into fists.

"We retreated into the sidelines, and began a campaign to strike fear and respect into the hearts of wizards and Muggles alike. I'm sorry to say that at this point, my longtime colleague got cold feet. But I am merciful; his betrayal did not change the invaluable service he had once provided me, and so I did not kill him. Rest assured, however, that he will never oppose me again."

Malfoy laughed once more.

"This strategy has made us far more successful. We are on the verge of winning the war...closer to victory than anyone but we know. And the Feather of Fawkes is finished...though, if truth be told, they never really had a chance."

"It's not over!" shouted Albus, springing to his feet. "You'll never win! Sure, you'll always have a small crowd of twisted lunatics who'll agree with your views, but you'll never sway the public opinion! The world has moved beyond that! You're no better than Voldemort!"

"Voldemort?" Malfoy roared with laughter, getting out of his chair. "On the contrary, I was always better than Voldemort. Voldemort was weak. He never took the time to learn...to open his eyes, or to move beyond his petty fears. That's why he failed. You cannot base a new wizarding order upon one man's childish terror of death. But I have opened my eyes. I understand what is at stake, and the precise nature of the ideal for which I strive. _I know secrets of magic that would have b__lown Voldemort's mind_!" Malfoy collapsed back into his chair, breathing heavily.

After a few seconds, he said, "And I am offering to share these secrets with you, Albus."

"What?" said Albus, confused.

"Join me." Malfoy said. "Cast aside your misconceptions and look upon humanity as it truly is. And the rewards will be tremendous. I can teach you everything. I can teach you the fundamental nature of magic. I can teach you how to become more powerful than you ever dreamed of. And I can teach you the true nature of what exists between you and me, Albus Potter. For we are more interconnected than you can possibly imagine. We can be united in purpose, and rule the universe together...or we can be mortal enemies. It is your choice...and I pray you'll make the right decision. Join me, Albus. _Join me_."

Albus stared at Malfoy, unable to believe what he was hearing, unable to find words strong enough to reply. Finally, he said, his voice low and suffused with hatred, "Never."

Malfoy's face betrayed no emotion. He did not even move.

"All right...so Muggles wronged wizards a few thousand years ago. That's a wound that has long since healed! And Muggles have repaid wizards a hundredfold with ideas of their own!"

Albus jumped out of his chair and advanced on Malfoy, who continued to stare blankly at him. "You're dwelling in an era long since passed...a primitive, hateful era before even _our_ time. Getting revenge doesn't matter—all that matters is that you're tearing down a beautiful society out of spite!"

Still, Malfoy said nothing, but this only made Albus angrier.

"The only reason medieval Muggles persecuted wizards is because they were uneducated and frightened. But they know better now. _They're_ the ones who have opened their eyes! I don't care what ancient secrets you've discovered, Malfoy. You've learned _nothing_!"

Albus fell silent, breathing heavily. There was a pause, and then...

"I had hoped that I could make you understand." said Malfoy, sounding disappointed, almost sad. "But I knew all along it was hopeless. I will make no more effort to persuade you; you are simply beyond reason."

Malfoy rose to his feet again. "If only you knew what you could have had...what might have been averted between us."

"What do you mean?" snapped Albus.

"You will find out soon enough." said Malfoy. "It won't be much longer before it all ends."

He pointed his finger at Albus, and crooked it upwards. Everything seemed to dissolve into smoke, and then...

He was lying facedown on a cold metal floor.

"Albus!" cried a voice. He rolled over to see Rose bending over him.

"I wondered when you'd arrive, Al." said James, solemnly. "Your friend is already here."

Kramer raised his hand, looking glum.

"Well, at least we're all back together again." said Hugo.

"But how are we going to escape?" piped up Lily.

"That," said Albus, looking around at the walls, "is a very good question."


	10. An Unexpected Ally

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 10: An Unexpected Ally**

"I've learned a lot since I last saw you," said Albus, looking around at them all, "most of it within the past five minutes."

He told them everything, with a little help from Kramer—about the two of them escaping from Chardmus, about Rob helping them get out of the headquarters of the Feather of Fawkes, about lying huddled in the base beneath Nereid, about Albus's difficulty in controlling his magical ability, about how he cast a curse in his sleep, and how the Stingers had finally caught them and sent them here.

"Well, that's all I know," said Kramer. "That mad woman called Whelmuran took me down here, and I got separated from Albus."

"The next part is where it gets interesting," said Albus. "I got taken to meet the leader of the Circle."

"You did!" exclaimed Rose.

"Who is he?" demanded James.

Albus took a deep breath. "It was Malfoy," he said. "Malfoy was behind it all...the whole time."

"Why, that evil little runt!" roared James, pounding the floor of the cell. "I can't believe it!"

"_I_ can," said Rose. "I've been suspecting it for a while now. I mean, it makes sense."

"I know," said Albus. "When I found out it was Malfoy, I realized that the clues pointed to him the whole time."

"And he's the leader of a massive terrorist network?" said James, his voice choked with hatred and incredulity.

"He genuinely believes Muggles are at the core of society's problems," replied Albus. "And he's determined to reshape the world in his ideals by any means necessary. Worse, I think he's got some kind of secret plan...a play that nobody else knows about. He said that the war is almost over."

"But what can we do?" asked Lily, terrified.

"Well, we should start by escaping Victoria Perfectus." said James.

"How?" said Rose. "Remember what the Stingers told us? We can't leave the fortress without the permission of the Circle. Otherwise, we'll be outside of the magical protection keeping this fortress intact, and the Sun will incinerate us!"

"Even more than that, we're still trapped in a cell," said Hugo, looking around hopelessly. "And none of us have wands."

Albus had been waiting for someone to say that. "Not a problem," he said confidently, stepping forward. He thrust his arm forward and thought, "_Reducto._"

The spell shot out of his palm and blasted the cell door off its hinges. It clattered noisily to the floor.

Everyone stared at him in utter shock.

"I don't know what this power is," said Albus, "but I seem to have it, just like Malfoy and his Stingers. Since I lost my wand back at Nereid, we'd better take advantage of it."

"Blimey, Al!" exclaimed James. "If we ever get back to our own time, you'll conquer your O.W.L.s like nobody's business!"

"But it doesn't solve the problem of the Dark magic which prevents us from leaving," said Rose.

"I don't know," said Albus. "Maybe it does."

"What do you mean?" said Rose, confused.

"Think about it. I seem to have the secret power of the Stingers. Maybe it means I have the magical privileges of a Stinger, too. If that's the case, I can get all of us out."

"Well...I'm not sure," said Rose, sounding skeptical. "How would we check something like that?" If you're wrong, we'll all die."

"There's one safe way to figure it out," said James. "Al, the enchantments prevent non-Stingers from Apparating and Disapparating within or out of Victoria Perfectus."

"So?"

"So, try Apparating to the other side of this room. If you can, we'll be all set."

Albus paused. He had never tried Apparating before. After all, he was thirteen, and only wizards and witches who were of age were allowed to do it. Even then, it was necessary to pass a Ministry test.

"I have no experience Apparating," said Albus. "If I try, and can't do it, how will we know whether it's because the enchantments are stopping me, or because I simply don't have the magical power?"

"I think we'll know," said Rose. "If you just can't do it, you'll end up several feet from where you're trying to go, or Splinch yourself, or simply be unable to move at all. If there's an enchantment preventing you, you'll feel like you're trying to move through something solid."

"And what if it does work, but I end up Splinching myself?" asked Albus. "If I leave my legs behind or something when I Apparate, I'll be sort of stuck, won't I?"

"It depends how badly you do it," said Rose. "If it's a minor Splinching, you might be able to reattach whatever you left behind with a spell."

"And if I Splinch myself really badly?"

"Don't Splinch yourself," said Rose firmly. "I've read up on the magical theory. If you can't picture your destination clearly enough, you won't move at all. If you move too quickly or too slowly, you'll overshoot or undershoot your target. And if your determination to Apparate isn't strong enough, you'll get Splinched. Just avoid making those mistakes, and you'll do fine."

_Easier said than done_, thought Albus. However, he fixed his mind firmly upon the other side of the cell, turned on the spot, and began to feel his way through the horrible, compressed oblivion...

...and seemed to strike a wall. The sensation lifted, and he was on the floor, gasping and coughing.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You sort of began to fade away," said James, "and then you were solid again, and lost your balance."

"Was that a mistake in my technique?" Albus asked Rose.

"No, I don't think so," said Rose. "It looked perfect for a split second. I think you were blocked by an enchantment."

"Well then, that's it," said Albus, getting to his feet shakily. "I don't count as a Stinger."

Rose looked like she was thinking hard. She also looked as though she was stumped. "In that case, I suppose we should just get out of here and explore the fortress. We might get an idea."

Hugo, Lily, and Kramer stepped forward.

"Wait!" said Rose urgently. "We mustn't be seen! Albus, can you do Disillusionment Charms on us?"

"I'll try," said Albus. Concentrating hard, he pointed his hand at everyone in turn and thought the incantation. It looked as though everyone was melting before his eyes. Trickles of invisibility ran down from their heads, to their shoulders, to their waists, and then obscured them entirely.

Now, he pressed his palm to his forehead, and performed the charm on himself. And there they all stood, their bodies colored and textured exactly like the curved black walls behind them.

But Albus hadn't done a very good job. As his friends moved, it took a fraction of a second for their bodies to change color to match what was behind them. They would only be completely hidden when they stood perfectly still. If only he had his father's invisibility cloak now...but it would never have covered six people, anyway.

"It's...better than nothing, I suppose," said James, looking down at his crudely Disillusioned hands. "Lucky it's pretty dark in Victoria Perfectus."

"I wish you had this power," said Albus, looking in Rose's direction. "I bet you could have done it a lot better."

"Yes, well, never mind that," said Rose in a whisper. "Let's go."

They crept along the curved, dark hallways and through elliptical chambers. Every now and then, they passed some lower-level minions striding down the halls, looking agitated, and once, a Stinger walked by, strolling along and looking quite pleased with himself. Whenever anyone drew near, they all froze in their tracks until they were quite sure that they were alone again. No alarms had been set off yet; it seemed that nobody had noticed their disappearance.

Albus had no idea what they were looking for. After several minutes, he was beginning to suspect that the whole thing was completely pointless. Their only plan was to wander around and hope that they came up with a better idea.

Suddenly, a shrill beeping sound cut through the echoing silence of Victoria Perfectus. Albus had no doubt about the reason; someone had discovered that they had escaped.

Hiding suddenly became ten times harder. There were far more people running through the halls now, and they found themselves staying perfectly still far more often than before. Suddenly, two men turned to face them.

"What was that?" one of them said in a high, hoarse voice. "Did you see that, Naopu? Some kind of movement over there!"

"Oh, I saw it all right," said the other. He drew closer, his arm outstretched.

Hugo ran for it. Albus and the others tore off in his wake. "There! Over there! I saw 'em! They're Disillusioned! They're going that way!"

The two of them sprinted after Albus and his friends. "_Around the corner,_" he mouthed wordlessly, pointing at a corridor coming off theirs. "_Hide around the corner!_"

They turned the corner and froze in their tracks, trying to quiet their rapid, heavy breathing. The two men dashed right past them, yelling "They could have gone either way! Let's split up!"

When the noise of rapid footsteps faded away, Albus peered in the direction they had gone. Not too far away were two other hallways—the hallways the men had ran off into.

"Let's double back," whispered Albus. Hastily but quietly, they continued in their direction.

They did not meet anyone else. This part of the fortress seemed deserted. "Let's go that way," said Albus, pointing to a black door at the end of their passage.

As they entered it, they groaned. They were back in the dungeons again. They must have walked all the way around the circular fortress, and had found nothing useful.

"Hang on," said Albus, pointing. "This must be the other side of the dungeons. I don't see our cell anywhere, and...who is that?"

One of the cells was occupied. As they drew nearer, they saw a weary looking man with an unkempt, bushy black beard and long, thin arms and legs. However, they could not see him clearly; it was as though they were looking at him through a heat haze.

"Is someone there?" said the man in a deep, gravelly voice.

Albus hastily removed the Disillusionment Charms. Everyone now stood in front of the cell door, completely visible again.

"You're not from the Circle. Who are you?" said the man.

"We're the escaped prisoners the rest of the fortress is up in arms over." said Rose.

"You are? But then..." he pointed at Albus, "then you must be Albus Potter!"

"Um, yes...yes, I am," said Albus. It did not occur to him to lie.

"My name is Rasputin Rucolfix," said the man.

"R...Rucolfix?" said James.

"Perhaps you have heard of my great-uncle," said the man. "A far better man than I ever was...and here you see the consequences of my youthful foolishness. I also assume you have heard of my former friend and partner, Scorpius Malfoy?"

Albus's head was spinning. Yes...it all added up. "I've heard of you. You tried to back out, and Malfoy punished you for it."

"Indeed," said Rasputin Rucolfix, nodding. "You see this?" he said, gesturing at the shimmering air. "Scorpius cast this here. It negates the magic of anyone within it."

"I can free you," said Albus.

"Albus, what are you doing?" said Rose, sounding alarmed.

"He's the closest thing to an ally we've got, Rose," said Albus, "and the closest thing to an actual plan."

Rose hesitated, and then nodded.

Albus swept his arm in a great arc, and the cell door crumpled like a piece of paper. Rasputin stepped through it.

"I am forever in your debt for releasing me," said Rasputin. "And the first thing I'll do is get you out of here."

"What...out of Victoria Perfectus?" said Kramer. "Can you do that?"

"Of course. I am still a part of the enchantments behind the Circle. Now that I am free of Scorpius's spell, I'll be able to get you out."

"But how will you do it?" said Albus.

"I'll fly you out," he said simply. "But we'll have to be quick. My escape will have set off a much greater alarm. Scorpius knows...he's coming for me."

"Then we've got to get out NOW!" shouted Rose in alarm.

"Hang on. I can do better Disillusionment Charms...and I'll also use _Muffliato Conditionalis_." said Rasputin, silently casting the charms as he spoke. They'll keep us perfectly concealed from anyone but Scorpius himself. He's too powerful to be fooled by something so simple."

Albus and his friends dashed off, following Rasputin as he guided them through corridors, up staircases, and across cavernous rooms. At last, they arrived at a circular set of doors in the ceiling, exactly like the ones that Vega and Whelmuran had entered through when they were carrying Albus and Kramer.

"_Obscuro Illuminatus_," said Rasputin, sweeping his arm around, and everything dimmed again. "_Abrius__!_" he cried, now pointing at the doors, and they slid open, flooding the hall with brilliant light.

Rasputin then pointed his palm once again at Albus, James, Lily, Rose, Hugo, and Kramer, and the six of them rose up into the air and through the doors, which promptly closed. They were now standing on the surface of Victoria Perfectus, the churning plasma of the Sun's core surrounding them.

Albus suddenly heard a terrible yell of fury. With a cold, sweeping sensation, he felt the Disillusionment charms break. They were now visible. Turning around, Albus saw Malfoy gliding through the air towards them, right arm extended, hatred in his eyes.

A jet of green light flew at Rasputin, barely discernible against the brilliance encircling the fortress. Rasputin threw himself aside, and cast a retaliatory spell that Malfoy deflected easily. "Everyone, hold hands!" bellowed Rasputin, sidestepping three more Killing Curses.

Once they had obeyed, he screamed, "Albus, take my arm!"

Albus stepped forwards as Rasputin hurled himself at him, more curses whistling past and missing the man by a hair's breadth. The moment Albus grasped his arm, Rasputin shot upwards like a rocket, pulling everyone with him. Malfoy began to follow.

"_PROTEGO!_" roared Rasputin. The Shield Charm expanded, impeding Malfoy. Before Malfoy could undo the charm, they had entered the sea of light once more, and Albus could no longer see anybody. The only things that were real to him were the arms of Rasputin and Rose, both of which he grasped as tightly as he could. Rasputin swerved wildly, changing direction. "There! That oughta lose him! Everyone holding on?"

"I don't know how, but I am!" shouted Kramer.

"I knew you would!" called Rasputin. "My magic has taken over now. We're bound together until I land again."

"Where are we going?" yelled Rose.

"Earth!" he called back. "Large, crowded, and plenty of hiding places. We'll decide what to do next when we get there."

They broke through the surface of the Sun, and once again, Albus was hurtling through the blackness of space. Once again, he could see all of his friends, holding on to one another in a great chain, with Rasputin pulling them on.

"Why didn't Malfoy follow?" said Albus.

"There's no point!" said Rasputin. "He has no idea what direction we've headed in. But he's not finished with us. The Stinger's will soon be searching the solar system top to bottom."

"How long until we get to Earth?" said Lily.

"At warp speed, it'll be less than ten minutes." said Rasputin.

Shortly, the planet became visible as a speck, a dot, a blue ball...closer and closer they came, and Albus felt Rasputin slowing them down. They were zooming in on the continent of Europe...now they were aiming for Great Britain...now, the Scottish highlands...now a great forest was growing larger and larger, and they slowed more and more, until they touched down gently in a leafy clearing.

"Is this..." began Hugo.

"The Forbidden Forest," said Rasputin with a smile.

Albus felt strange. It was as though they had come full circle...yet their group now included two more people.

Rasputin waved his arm, and Albus saw a few flashes in the air. "No creature will be able to attack us now." he said.

"What now?" said Albus, staring at Rasputin.

The thrill of their escape seemed to have melted away. Rasputin looked tired and grave...almost miserable, in fact.

"I need to tell you the full story," said Rasputin, sitting on a fallen trunk and sighing wearily. "You must know everything about Scorpius, about the Circle, about your powers...about the deepest secrets of magic."


	11. The Pensieve Fountain

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 11: The Pensieve Fountain**

"Why are we going to Hogsmeade?" panted Hugo, as the group strode across the Hogwarts grounds.

"I think it would be easier if I showed you my story, rather than told it to you," replied Rasputin mysteriously.

The city was just as crowded and frenzied as it had been the last time Albus had seen it. However, he noticed a slight change in the atmosphere of the place. The people seemed tense, anxious...almost as though they expected a meteor to strike any moment.

It was then that Albus noticed the news flashes. In the air above the streets, above even the witches and wizards commuting on broomsticks, large, glowing rectangles were floating, turning at ninety degree angles to follow the direction of the streets. They looked rather like suspended television screens, only there were no televisions.

Each one of the disembodied screens was delivering a different version of the same story. "STINGERS BECOMING BOLDER—WORLD GOVERNMENTS COMMIT UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF RESOURCES TO COMBAT TERRORIST THREAT" read one. "MAGICAL, MUGGLE MINISTRIES OUTLINE THREAT OF CIRCLE OF THE NEW BIRTH OF SORCERY AT RECENT UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE" said another. And not all of the screens showed flashing words; some of them displayed news anchors discussing the recent wave of atrocities committed by Stingers.

Albus felt hope blossoming in his chest. In recent weeks, he had felt as though he and his friends had been alone in the war. Seeing the media coverage made Albus remember that the vast majority of mankind was also opposed to the Circle.

"Here we are," said Rasputin. They had stopped in front of a marble building, not unlike Gringotts Bank in Diagon Alley, though smaller. They climbed the steps in front of the building and pushed open the doors...and Albus was greeted with an astonishing sight.

They were standing in a vast hall full of what seemed to be fountains. But the jets spraying out of the ornately carved statues in their centers were not water. Instead, a silvery, wispy substance gushed out of the fountains in elaborate streams, swirling and separating in the surrounding pools as though it was somewhere between liquid and gas. Albus's mouth fell open.

"Pensieve," he whispered in awe.

Albus had never seen the extraordinary substance, but his father had told him all about it...the way it could store thoughts and memories, and take people inside them for examination. Dumbledore himself had had a bowl of it in his office at Hogwarts.

Now, as Albus looked around in astonishment, he saw that small clusters of people were gathered around various fountains, bent over the pools, their heads completely submerged. Others were uncorking bottles and teasing out memories, which curled around their fingers and wands like strands of silvery hair.

"Wow." breathed Rose.

"If I recall my history, Pensieve was extremely rare in your time," said Rasputin. "It is derived from the most complex potion known to wizardkind, which takes a full fifty years to make, and frequently befuddles even the most accomplished potioneers. For centuries, only the greatest wizards had any. But in the past few centuries, an entire industry has sprung up around mass-producing it, and its manufacture has been mechanized. Now, every settlement has one of these buildings, filled with fountains of the stuff. Crowds of people come each day to remember things they've forgotten, gain a better understanding of themselves, or simply relive their fondest memories."

"Or share their secrets?" said Albus eagerly, now understanding why Rasputin had brought them here.

"Yes," he sighed.

They came to a halt in front of a vacant fountain. Rasputin pressed his hand to his temple and closed his eyes. When he removed his hand, strands of memory came away, and he dropped them into the fountain. The substance within became foggier, and began to swirl rapidly.

"After you," Rasputin said, gesturing to the fountain. As one, Albus, James, Lily, Rose, Hugo, and Kramer plunged their heads into the pool. Albus couldn't see his friends. He was falling through icy darkness, tumbling and somersaulting through nothingness, until...

He found himself standing in a corridor at Hogwarts. Snow was falling outside, and wind howled through the windows, rattling the suits of armor, but he couldn't feel it. He looked to his left, and saw all of his friends standing beside him, looking amazed. Looking at his other side, he saw Rasputin. But this was the older Rasputin—the one who was observing the memory with him. He knew it had worked; they were inside Rasputin's memories. But what was about to happen? And where was the younger Rasputin?

His question was answered at once. Echoing footsteps were growing louder, and, at that moment, a Slytherin third-year appeared around the corner. The boy Rasputin was scrawny and hollow-cheeked, with long black hair, a pointed chin, and bright blue eyes.

Suddenly, Albus heard a rattling noise. Looking to his right, he saw a suit of armor vibrating. The young Rasputin noticed it as well. He came to a halt, looking warily at the rattling armor.

Suddenly, the suit of armor flew apart in a cacophony of crashing and clanging, expelling another boy, who flew through the air and landed face-down on the floor in front of Rasputin. Albus gasped. It was Scorpius Malfoy...and he looked little older than he had been when he lured them all into the Forbidden Forest.

The iron pieces on the floor abruptly reformed themselves into the suit of armor, which rose to its feet, shook its fist at Malfoy, and stormed away down the hall, creaking and clunking all the way.

The young Rasputin pulled Malfoy to his feet, looking astonished. "What...what just happened?" asked Rasputin.

"I was hiding," said Malfoy. "I'm not a Hogwarts student, so I'd be sent away if the teachers found me. Lately, I've taken to hiding in the suits of armor when I hear someone coming...but as you just saw, they don't like it."

"But...who are you?" said Rasputin.

"My name is Scorpius Malfoy," said Malfoy.

Rasputin's eyes widened. "Malfoy? That's a very old wizarding name...but I thought it was extinct in the male line!"

Malfoy looked proud that Rasputin seemed to respect his name, but then his face clouded over. "Extinct in the male line?"

"Yeah, I thought all the old wizarding families died out. That's what Binns told us in History of Magic anyway..."

Malfoy looked horrified. Rasputin, seeing his expression, just seemed bewildered.

"I'll explain everything," said Malfoy, "but I think we should probably go back to the Slytherin common room."

The two of them set off, Albus and his friends dashing along after them. They went down several flights of stone staircases, descending into the dungeons, and off along a twisting maze of dark, dripping passages. After a few minutes, they stopped at a bare stretch of stone wall. It looked no different from the surrounding walls, but the instant Rasputin said the words "_A__ncient Roots_", a hidden door slid open, revealing a spacious dungeon full of carved chairs and illuminated with an eerie greenish glow coming from lamps suspended from chains set into the walls.

"Maybe I should tell you my story later," said Malfoy, as Rasputin took a seat by the elaborately carved mantle. "Aren't you missing class?"

"Oh, no...today's the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, and everyone's outside on the grounds," said Rasputin. His words were punctuated by a faraway cheer. "I've never really been one for spectacle...I thought I'd use the time to get a bit of work done. But that can wait. I want to know who you are, and where you came from."

Malfoy began to explain. As he told the story, Rasputin looked amazed.

"So you've come to find out what this time is like?" said Rasputin.

Malfoy nodded. "But let me tell you that the extinction of the pure-blood families doesn't give me a good feeling."

"From what you've told me about yourself, I don't think you're likely to enjoy the rest of the tale, either," said Rasputin darkly.

The scene blurred. A few seconds later, it reformed. Now, they seemed to be inside one of the Slytherin dormitories. Rasputin seemed to be alone. He was sitting on his four-poster bed, reading a book. Abruptly, he put the book aside and bent over the side of his bed. "How's the Disillusionment Charm?" he muttered.

"Still holding up," replied Malfoy's voice from underneath the bed.

"I think this will be a better arrangement," said Rasputin. "I won't reveal you to my friends yet, but I think they can be trusted to keep the secret when I'm forced to do so."

"Good," breathed Malfoy.

There was a pause. Then, Rasputin said, "You're still upset about what you heard today, aren't you?"

"The noble Salazar Slytherin would have been deeply saddened by what wizards have become," said Malfoy, his voice bitter and slightly choked.

"At least there is no war, and no suffering," pointed out Rasputin.

"That's the problem!" snapped Malfoy. "Wizards have always suffered at the hands of Muggles...they persecuted us, punished us, hated us because we were _better_. Once upon a time, wizardkind dreamed of revolution...dreamed of taking back the world and serving justice to the Muggles...but now we've given up the dream! We've let Muggles back into the fold, and let them encroach on our ancient customs and practices. It's an abomination!"

"I know," sighed Rasputin, absentmindedly curling a strand of his hair around his finger. "But we're just two kids. What are we going to do?"

"We're more than just two kids," said Malfoy. "We're the two brightest minds ever to set foot in Hogwarts. And if we put our heads together..."

He fell silent. Footsteps were growing louder outside the dormitory door. Soon, it opened to reveal four more Slytherins, who promptly crossed the room and sat on each of their respective beds.

"Hey, Rasp, you missed a heck of a show!" said a large, blond boy. "That Beauxbatons champion nearly got his head ripped off!"

"I was otherwise engaged," said Rasputin simply, returning to his book. The boy shrugged, and the four Slytherins fell into excited conversation about the tournament. All was quiet underneath Rasputin's bed.

Once again, the scene vanished. When the memory came back into focus, Albus was standing in the most sinister place he had ever seen. It was a long stone chamber lit with a misty green gloom and lined with elaborately carved stone pillars. Albus suddenly realized that the pillars were shaped like vast, intertwined snakes. At the end of the chamber was an enormous stone statue of a bearded sorcerer, and coiled at its base, Albus could see what appeared to be the ancient skeleton of an enormous serpent.

Approaching the statue, Albus could see Rasputin and Malfoy sitting up against the snake skeleton.

"This was a fantastic idea, Rasputin!" Malfoy was saying. "The Chamber of Secrets is the perfect place to formulate our plans without being disturbed. By the way, how did you know how to speak Parseltongue?"

"I only know a couple of words," said Rasputin. "One of my friends taught me...but I dunno how _he_ knew. I've never asked."

"Right," said Malfoy. "So, the way I see it, Muggles don't..."

The memory dissolved. But when Albus's vision returned, they were still in the Chamber of Secrets. Rasputin and Malfoy, however, looked a bit older. It appeared as though a year or two had passed. Scraps of parchment littered the damp stone floor, covered in odd symbols and maps.

"You know, Rasp," said Malfoy, looking up from a complicated diagram he had been examining intently, "We're not getting anywhere with this. Sitting around in a gloomy chamber on odd weekends and talking won't help us reach a breakthrough."

"Then what do you suggest?" said Rasputin.

"Let's run away from Hogwarts," said Malfoy eagerly.

"What?" exclaimed Rasputin incredulously.

"We already know twice as much magic as the seventh years," said Malfoy. "I see no need to continue my education. My upcoming O.W.L.s are only going to bore me."

"That's true," said Rasputin slowly, "But..."

"Here's what we should do," said Malfoy. "We'll travel the world, and examine the ruins of ancient civilizations, back before wizards went into hiding. We might uncover ancient secrets...things which we can use against the Muggles."

Rasputin thought it over, and then smiled. "You're right, of course, Scorpius," he said. "Let's not delay. We'll go at once."

Once more, the memory changed. Now, they were in an underground cavern, full of cracked circular structures. Rasputin was casting a glow with his wand, but Malfoy was illuminating the scene with his palm. It seemed that Malfoy had now learned the mysterious power that would later become the dreaded weapon of the Stingers.

"I just don't get it, Rasp," said Malfoy, sounding puzzled. "The Kaliipii Civilization was so incredibly advanced. Not just technologically, but socially. They even had the Muggles work as slaves to the wizards—you won't see anyone today with the courage to do that. What happened eighteen thousand years ago to make them vanish?"

"I think it was something to do with this Dark wizard, Makliapiiti, who keeps coming up in the text," said Rasputin, directing his wandlight at a line of runes. "Yes, look here...it says 'and after Tiila lost the fated duel, the Kaliipii descended into chaos, fueled by the darkness from Makliapiiti's palm...' hey, it sounds like he could do that trick you've got, Scorpius."

"Seems like there were a handful of wizards scattered throughout history who could do it," said Malfoy thoughtfully. "I wonder...what makes me and Makliapiiti and Tiila and the others special?"

Next, the memory showed Albus and his friends a thick, marshy jungle. Rasputin and Malfoy, looking a few years older, were standing in the middle of a swamp, talking excitedly.

"Scorpius, I've noticed a pattern in the civilizations we've seen," said Rasputin. "Each of them got built up over thousands of years, and covered the world. Then, it all seemed to culminate in a great duel with two powerful wizards. The one who used Dark magic always seemed to win, but then the society would come crashing down, and there'd be no trace of organized civilization for thousands of years."

Malfoy gazed at his hand intently. "And all of these dueling wizards seem to have had my power."

Rasputin looked at Malfoy. "You mean...you think that _you_..."

"Why not?" said Malfoy excitedly. "It makes sense. But I wonder whom my destined duel shall be wi—" he stopped abruptly, his eyes widening.

"Albus Potter," he whispered.

"Albus Potter?" said Rasputin. "He's one of those obnoxious kids you sent even further into the future, right?"

Malfoy nodded. "Of all of them, I've always particularly hated him," he said. "He was the levelheaded one...the one who got all the attention, and was most like his father. The biggest reminder of what wizards almost achieved, and failed to do..."

"You think Albus is your fated opponent?" said Rasputin.

"It's too early to know for sure," said Malfoy. "But all the same, I'd stake my life on it..."

The fog blurred the memory. Now Rasputin and Malfoy were sitting at a cluttered desk in a small study.

"These people were able to _predict_ when their duel would happen!" said Malfoy. "Do you have any idea how significant that is?"

"But what does it mean?" Rasputin was saying. "I don't understand the part about 'that brilliant, twinkling star, that brightest jewel of the night, from which all magic shines forth, and whose cycle is drawing near to the time of reckoning...' what did the people of the Bartuno Civilization mean?"

"It's obvious, Rasp!" said Malfoy. "This is huge! A spectacular discovery!"

"It is?" said Rasputin, confused. "But what is it?"

"Don't you see? This is the ultimate source of magic!"

"Magic has an ultimate source?" said Rasputin, confused.

"Yes! Magic is a frequency of radiation emitted by a star!" said Malfoy. "This radiation bathes the solar system, and interacts with other matter and energy. Some humans must have cells which are receptive to this radiation, and others don't! Those whose cells are receptive are wizards and witches, and those with cells which are not responsive are Muggles!"

"But which star emits this radiation?" said Rasputin, his eyes wide.

"The runes refer to the 'brightest jewel of the night'," said Malfoy. "That has to be Sirius—the brightest star in the night sky!"

"And what about that 'cycles' thing?" asked Rasputin eagerly.

"I think that Sirius goes through general cycles of high- and low-intensity magic," said Malfoy. "And somehow, as the cycle reaches its greatest intensity, it causes two 'super-wizards' to be born."

"And one of them is Dark, and the other a Muggle-lover!" added Rasputin.

"Exactly!"

"But doesn't that mean that you win this duel with Albus, it'll be the end of society?"

"No," said Malfoy sharply. "Not this time. Those other Dark wizards were morally corrupted, seeking nothing more than personal gain. Whereas I...I intend to settle an old debt the Muggles have to us,"

Albus rather thought that Rasputin looked uncertain, and possibly a little worried. But before he could give it much thought, the memory twisted and reformed. Rasputin and Malfoy, now looking to be in their mid-twenties, were sitting in a barren, rocky field, the sky strewn with stars. Albus recognized where they were. Nereid.

"We've got to be sensible about this thing," said Rasputin. "If, in every duel, the Dark wizard won, and the world descended into chaos, we need to know what went wrong each time."

"Yes, yes," said Malfoy. "I'm learning from their mistakes...and also from the things they did well."

"Th-things they did well?" said Rasputin apprehensively.

"Look at what the Dark wizard Yoynoma did in the age of the F'xyamo Civilization," said Malfoy. "He wasn't arrogant like the rest. He realized he couldn't do it alone...so he granted some of his power to his closest minions."

"He did?" said Rasputin.

"Honestly, am I the _only_ one who's reading the runes anymore?" snapped Malfoy. "Anyway, I think it's time to start building up a following. And I think Yoynoma had a perfect idea. I'll start with you."

"You're going to give me some of your abilities?" said Rasputin, surprised.

"Of course," said Malfoy. "We're partners, you and I. Equals. Can't have one more powerful than the other, can we now?"

In the next memory, they were still on Nereid, but in a different canyon. Rasputin was sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, and Malfoy had his hand on Rasputin's forehead, muttering words in a strange language. Albus looked up and, with a jolt, saw a star which he recognized as Sirius. It was directly overhead, and seemed to be growing steadily brighter.

Suddenly, Malfoy stopped speaking. A dazzling beam of white light descended from the sky, and collided with Malfoy and Rasputin. There was a flash, and the two of them were lying on the ground, gasping.

"Did it work?" panted Malfoy, sitting up.

Rasputin got shakily to his feet, directed his palm at a rock lying ten feet away, and murmured, "_Wingardium Leviosa_."

The rock floated upwards. Rasputin moved his hand. The rock moved too. He swung his arm around in circles. The rock spiraled around and around. Finally, he let his arm drop, and the rock fell back to the ground.

"It _did_ work!" shouted Malfoy jubilantly, punching the air in triumph. "And now…it's time to gather followers."

And the memory changed again. With a gasp, Albus realized that they were now in Victoria Perfectus. In fact, they were in exactly the same chamber where he had talked to Malfoy. The two of them were sitting at a table, watching the news through a screen set into the wall. Malfoy was scowling. Rasputin's gaze was moving back and forth from the screen to Malfoy.

"The media hates us," said Malfoy. "Every day, I see about five stories in the news attacking us. Dangerous extremists, they call us. Racists. Supremacists. Neo Death Eaters. And it's not just the Muggles. The wizards are decrying our cause as well. At this rate, we have no hope of winning a fair election."

There was no doubt about it. Rasputin looked more than unsure of himself now. He looked disgusted.

"It's time we took a different approach," said Malfoy, pounding his fist on the table. If we can't be respected, we'll be feared."

"You can't mean..." spluttered Rasputin.

"We'll start with civilian targets," said Malfoy, a truly evil grin spreading across his face. "To strike terror in the hearts of the people. And then, when the world governments start to take notice, we'll go for military targets. But it won't end there."

Rasputin looked dreadful. But Malfoy didn't seem to notice his partner's discomfort.

"I've got a plan to cleanse humanity of the unfaithful!" Malfoy pounded the table. "Sirius is getting more and more intense in the release of its magical radiation. But the cycle has already been disrupted...why not step things up even more? There need not be a duel. If I can show Albus the glory I'm destined for, he might join me. But whether I forgive him or smite him, there's a much greater prize on the horizon."

Rasputin was now chalk-white.

"Once I've cleared every obstacle out of my way, I'll take control of Sirius's power!" roared Malfoy. "I will be the master of all magic! I alone will control who is powerful and who is weak! Those loyal to me will be rewarded beyond their dreams, while Muggles and infidels are swept away!"

"You will do no such thing!" bellowed Rasputin, leaping to his feet.

Malfoy froze, and slowly turned his head to face Rasputin. "What did you say?" he said, in a soft, deadly voice.

"Look at yourself, Scorpius!" shouted Rasputin. "I've always respected you for your desire to bring about positive change, and now you sit here, with talk of taking over the universe and destroying everything that displeases you! What happened to the young man who wanted justice? Oh, but he never existed. I can see it now. This way of thinking—that Muggles must be treated as inherently inferior—always corrupts wizards like this! I've been a fool to believe you could ever improve humanity! We're toying with forces no wizard should ever toy with. Well, not anymore!"

Malfoy thrust his palm forward. There was a flash of golden light, and Rasputin was bound in cords of energy. "If that's what you think," said Malfoy icily, "then there'll be no place for you in the new order."

"I thought we were partners!" bellowed Rasputin, tears of rage streaming down his cheeks. "_Equals_, you called us!"

Malfoy sneered contemptuously. "If you can no longer understand the universe on the same plane I do, you're no equal of mine! And I promise you, Rasputin Rucolfix, that you will never see the light of day again!"

The memory dissolved. Albus was now rushing upwards through the darkness. His head broke the surface of the Pensieve fountain, and he was sitting on the floor with James, Lily, Rose, Hugo, Kramer, and the present-day Rasputin.

Albus turned to look at Rasputin. "Malfoy's plan..." he said, dully. "It's about to be set in motion, isn't it?"

"Sirius is reaching critical intensity," said Rasputin gravely. "It's only a matter of days until he decides to set out for the star. And then..."

They all looked at each other, horrified.

"This is it, then," said Albus, getting to his feet. "We've got to prepare for war."

"What?" said Rasputin, startled.

"If Malfoy is this close to conquering the universe, we've got to do something...to do whatever we can," said Albus. "We'll round up what remains of the Feather of Fawkes, tell the world powers what we know, and from there, we'll fight."


	12. The United Nations

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 12: The United Nations**

Albus's mind was reeling. He felt numb, unfeeling...almost detached from his own body. He didn't notice the worried faces of his friends, the noise and bustle of the Hogsmeade ground traffic, the news anchors continuing to address the wave of attacks...all that was real to Albus was the vision of the memories he had seen.

He had always looked up to his father...the Boy who Lived, the Chosen One, the wizard who had rid the world forever of Lord Voldemort. And he still did. But now, he realized that the conflict he had found himself entangled in would be far greater, and it had been his destiny from birth that it would be so.

He, Albus Potter, had incredible powers beyond those of normal wizards...and so did Scorpius Malfoy. And the two of them were destined to duel for the fate of magical society. Yet Malfoy had tampered with the very nature of magic, by summoning energy from Sirius to empower his minions...and he was planning more, much more. If he was victorious, the cycle of magic would be forever disrupted. He would turn magic from something ubiquitous, something eternal, something that was owned by none but the products of which were owned by all...into his sole property, an extension of himself, which could be used by others only as he saw fit. Why, he could become all-powerful and all-seeing...a supernatural being...a _god_.

And did Albus have any hope of stopping Malfoy? Certainly it was his destiny to attempt it, and, given his own special powers, he was the only one who could challenge him. Yet he was facing an opponent who not only had decades more magical experience than he did, but was fighting on a side which had always won the fated duels since long before recorded history.

"Albus?" he heard Rose saying, as though from a great distance away. "Albus, are you all right?"

"Do you think I'm all right, Rose?" said Albus quietly.

"Listen Albus, I...I know it's horrible, but...it doesn't have to be that way."

"Yes, it does!" snapped Albus, making everyone jump, and a couple of passersby stare at them. "That's how it has always been! I am fated to challenge Malfoy...and I am fated to lose!"

"You don't know that, Albus!" said James. "Just because the others lost to the Dark side...I mean, Malfoy has upset the natural balance so much. It could be the worse for him."

"How could it be?" cried Albus. "He's taken so much power for himself! He's made himself indestructible!"

"You don't have to fight Malfoy," said Rasputin sharply. Albus turned to face him, and he continued. "It would be suicide, and you know it. Just go into hiding. It's for the best."

Albus looked back at Rasputin, and felt an anger welling up in the pit of his stomach. How typical of a Slytherin! _Go into hiding. Save your own skin. Let everything sort itself out._

"I'd be turning my back on the world if I ran from my destiny," said Albus harshly. "You're right that I have a choice. But I'm destined to _choose_ to fight. I can't _not _challenge Malfoy!"

Rasputin looked at him for a few seconds, and then said, "I understand."

Though he knew what he had to do, Albus wished desperately that he could follow Rasputin's advice. It _would_ be suicide to go through with the duel.

_No!_ thought Albus furiously. _It's not an option. I'm Harry Potter's son. I'm a Gryffindor. I am bound to do this...to fight the Dark Arts to the end_.

If only it were so simple. Was this how his father had felt...walking into the Forbidden Forest, surrendering to Voldemort, and embracing death, that others might live? The power of that sacrifice had ultimately saved his father's life, too. But Albus had no safeguards.

"What do we do?" Rose was saying. Albus pulled himself back to reality with enormous difficulty.

"I think there's only one thing we can do," said Rasputin. "We must find my great uncle. Tell him what we learned. He will know what to do."

"But where is he?" said Lily in desperation.

"He's on that newscast!" said James suddenly, pointing up at one of the floating screens. Startled, everyone looked up at the image to see the ancient, lined face of Nabus Rucolfix, frozen in place on the screen as words darted across the bottom. ERSTWHILE LEADER OF ANTI-CIRCLE RESISTANCE TO SPEAK AT UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE THIS AFTERNOON.

"Erstwhile?" said Rasputin, his eyes widening. "What do they mean?"

"The Feather of Fawkes had suffered a major blow, last I heard," said Albus dully. "Their headquarters were destroyed. It looks as though the whole movement has crumbled now."

James, who had continued to watch the news crawl, exclaimed, "The conference is going to happen in New York City!"

"Sorry, but what _i__s_ the United Nations?" asked Hugo, confused.

"It's a sort of alliance between most Muggle governments," said Rose. "It was around back in our time, too."

"But it's not just Muggle governments anymore," interjected Rasputin. "Ever since the wizards came out of hiding, there have been two delegates from each nation...a wizard and a Muggle."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Kramer enthusiastically. "Let's go to America and find him!"

Rasputin led them down three more streets, and into another building. Albus found himself inside a great domed hall lined with Warp Pods. But these were not like the battered, private Warp Pods the Feather of Fawkes had used; these were sleek and shiny, and large enough for a small crowd to stand inside them at once. All around the room, people were walking this way and that, stepping into and out of the pods.

He walked up to a short, stubbly man who was waving his wand and manipulating a set of numbers floating in midair. "Where to?" said the man gruffly, not taking his eyes off of his calculations.

"New York City," said Rasputin.

"Very well," said the man. He turned around and called out "We have a group of seven needing transport to New York!"

A woman with stringy blond hair came out of a side chamber, walked into one of the great Warp Pods, and emerged a few seconds later. "All set," she said.

Albus, James, Lily, Rose, Hugo, Kramer, and Rasputin stepped inside the pod. "Please turn around," intoned the automated voice. Albus did so, and once more entered into the unpleasant compressed blackness. A moment later, he staggered out of an identical Warp Pod, the others right behind him.

The hall they were standing in now was much larger, with a higher ceiling and vast windows lining the top of the room. The place was even more crowded than the Warp Pod station in Hogsmeade; everywhere Albus looked, he saw people scurrying by, talking in groups, and standing in long lines to be assigned to a Warp Pod.

A harassed-looking man dashed up to them, breathing hard. "Welcome to the United States," he said in a very routine sort of way, before hastily running off to welcome another arrival three Warp Pods down.

Something had been bothering Albus for a very long time now...something that he had thought was distinctly odd about this future world. He hadn't had much time to dwell on the matter because of everything that had happened to him and his friends, but now, it came floating to the forefront of his mind.

"Why are all the countries in the forty-fourth century exactly the same as they were in our time?" he asked Rasputin, as the seven of them walked past the lines of pods, heading for the exit. "I mean, empires and nations rose and fell in no time at all back when in our day, and for thousands of years before us."

"Well, if I recall my history correctly, not _everywhere_ is the same. Some continents have very different nations and borders than they did in your time, particularly Africa and Southwest Asia."

"But I'm talking about the places that _are_ the same. Why are places like the United Kingdom and America still around?"

Rasputin frowned, considering his answer. Finally, he said "Put it this way, Albus. There is no more efficient means of changing borders and governments than international tensions and political strife. Today's world is too prosperous for those things."

"At least until Malfoy gets his way," said Albus bitterly. He was beginning to understand the full extent of Malfoy's evil. How could he even _think_ of dismantling this world? Could anyone really be so spiteful, so blind, so power-hungry and corrupted by his own vision?

"This way," said Rasputin, steering the others through a set of sliding doors. They emerged into the sunlight, and got their first look at the city of New York.

Albus's mouth fell open. He had thought that the cities he had seen so far were impressive, but they hadn't even come close to what he was seeing now. To begin with, the buildings themselves were truly enormous. Albus could see thousands of high-rise structures, hundreds of buildings that towered above _those_ buildings, and dozens of skyscrapers that must have been over a thousand stories tall. They took on all shapes and colors, some of them narrow and cylindrical, others glassy and square, still others twisted up like abstract sculptures.

What was more, the aerial traffic in New York City was not merely limited to the space between buildings, as it was in Hogsmeade. Above these low-flying commuters, millions and millions of broomsticks and strange hovercrafts of all shapes and sizes were flying inside enormous transparent tubes that snaked their way through the air above the lower buildings and between the higher ones, merging, branching, and looping to form a tangled mesh of conduits. Furthermore, there were multiple levels of these tubes at different altitudes in the city. The lower ones were densely packed together and skirted the tops of the shorter buildings. The higher ones were very sparse, with only a few bifurcations and connections here and there, and looped around the highest floors of the mighty skyscrapers. Albus counted twelve levels.

As they strolled down the sidewalk, which was less crowded than the levels above, Rasputin noticed Albus looking in wonder at the clear tubes. "Those sky tubes may look like a haphazard tangle, but they are actually vital to keeping traffic organized in giant metropolitan areas like this. Before they used to have these, everyone just flew straight to their destination, and there was traffic shooting in every direction. As the population grew, midair collisions became a more common cause of death in cities than everything else combined. The sky tubes force commuters to move as one, bringing order from chaos. And because they allowed traffic to more more smoothly, it actually made commuting faster, too."

"Why don't more people just Apparate to their destinations?" asked Rose.

"They used to," said Rasputin. "But as the wizard population grew, and as Muggles began to Apparate with the help of Warp Pods, we soon discovered that millions of people Apparating at once in the same area causes strong magical interference. It can cause devices to go haywire, spells to not work properly, and occasionally produces spontaneous magical disruptions to nearby people, such as growing a third arm or suddenly only being able to speak another language. People gradually got smart about it, and now rarely Apparate in the city."

How different this place was than the wizarding settlements Albus had known in his time...from even the other wizarding settlements he had seen in this time. Here was the ultimate triumph of the marriage of magical power and non-magical ingenuity. Here were the fruits of partnership between wizards and Muggles.

Here was that which was threatened by the Circle.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Hugo, as Rasputin stopped in front of a strange sign. It showed the black silhouette of what looked like a bus with no wheels, three small lines trailing from the back. A large purple button was affixed below the sign.

"Now, we catch a shuttle," said Rasputin. Before Albus could ask what he meant, Rasputin thrust out his palm, and a large, sleek vehicle appeared out of thin air.

Albus was reminded forcibly of the Knight Bus, the purple, triple-decker wizarding transport service that existed back in his time. He himself had ridden it a few times, but because its driver was so reckless and swerved so violently, most wizards preferred to use alternative methods of reaching their destinations whenever possible. However, the manner it had been flagged down seemed to be the only thing the shuttle standing before them had in common with the Knight Bus.

To begin with, rather than a violent bang, this shuttle had made no noise as it materialized, other than a faint _whoosh_. It had only one level, and was a shiny gold color. Most important, however, the shuttle had no wheels. Instead of resting on the ground, it was hovering in thin air. Albus could not see any visible means of suspension. Above the windshield was a narrow, black sign which read, "UN TOWER—UPPER LEVELS".

The doors of the shuttle slid silently open, and Rasputin led them inside. Instead of the loose, sliding, haphazard chairs of the Knight Bus, this shuttle had two long cushioned seats, facing each other and spanning the length of the cabin. Golden poles stretched from ceiling to floor in the center of the aisle. Everything looked spotlessly clean.

"Morning!" said the driver brightly. He was a cheerful-looking, elderly man with a thick, bristling mustache. "Sure you flagged the right shuttle?"

"Positive," said Rasputin.

"I always make sure to check," said the driver amicably. "Right then, wandering time is five minutes. That okay?"

"That's fine," replied Rasputin. He sat down on one of the seats, and Albus, James, and Rose sat next to him. Hugo, Lily, and Kramer took seats opposite them.

"What is this?" asked Albus, as the bus rose gently into the air and began to glide along the quiet street.

"The shuttles can get you anywhere you need to go," Rasputin explained. "They've got tens of thousands of shuttles in service, each one assigned to take passengers to a different place in the city. Because of the risk of magical interference, the system has to be deliberate and ordered; if everyone flagged down random shuttles from anywhere and asked to go to whatever places they wanted, it could produce magical disturbances. So they created an elaborate network that has a few restrictions but gets you where you're going all the same."

"How does it work?" asked Albus, as the shuttle turned a corner smoothly. Although there were seat belts and poles, they didn't seem necessary, as none of the movement of the shuttle caused any lurching in the cabin.

"Well, the shuttles can stop at designated areas, like the one we were just in. Wizarding passengers stick out their wands—or, in our case, our hands—and think of their destination. Muggle passengers press the button on the sign, also concentrating on where they want to go. There will always be at least one shuttle assigned to transport people to that location, and it will warp there from wherever it currently is. There is a period, called the "wandering time", during which the shuttle will move around the city, and may be flagged down at any point. They are staggered to minimize the number of shuttles warping at once."

As if to illustrate Rasputin's point, the scene outside the shuttle changed abruptly. They were now at another stop, this one built into the side of one of the upper floors of the shorter buildings. They were inside one of the vast tubes, and there were all sorts of different types of vehicles zooming by around them, from broomsticks to other shuttles. The doors opened, and a man and a woman got on, sitting next to Kramer.

"Once the wandering time is up, the shuttle warps to a point some way away from its destination, and flies the rest of the way there," continued Rasputin, as the shuttle accelerated and entered the stream of traffic. "The busier the shuttle stop, the further away the initial warp point is, again to prevent excess magical interference."

"How busy is our stop?" asked Albus.

"Normally there's only a moderate amount of shuttle traffic there, but today, with a big conference, it'll be crowded. We'll have a fair drive."

Rose swallowed. She looked as though she had just thought of something unpleasant.

"What's wrong?" asked Kramer, looking at her.

"Well, it's just that...how are we going to get in? Surely we won't be allowed to sit in on a United Nations conference."

Rasputin laughed. "Of course we will! It's a publicly open event..._anyone_ may attend."

"Really?" said Rose, looking surprised. "In our time, no regular citizen would ever be permitted to just barge in on an open session of a governing body."

"Well, we won't be allowed to interrupt in any way...we will just be spectators," said Rasputin. "But once Nabus sees us, I guarantee that will change matters."

"What do you think about all of this?" said the man, making Albus look up, surprised.

"Um, well...I don't know..." he said, feeling slightly awkward.

"I think it's high time we come up with some way to fight the Circle," said the woman fiercely. She sighed. "But I don't know what can be done."

"Wandering time is over!" said the driver. With a _whoosh_, the shuttle warped itself into one of the highest tubes in the city. Thousands of buildings were spread out below them, as were many other tubes. Rising all around them were the largest skyscrapers in New York. The tube took them along a curving route, winding around buildings, sometimes even shooting through tunnels built into the sides of the great towers. All around them, above and below them, to their left and right, were even more commuters, and the farther they traveled, the more shuttles surrounded them. Some of them were longer or shorter. Some were empty, others were packed with people. There were single, double, triple, and even quadruple-decker buses. At one point, Albus caught sight of a bus with ten stories, which only barely fit within the tube.

Albus nudged James and pointed out the window. They were heading for what seemed to be the tallest building in the entire city. Its upper floors were so high that it was on a level with the icy streaks of nearby cirrus clouds. Protruding from the side of this massive skyscraper was what looked like a small bus terminal.

A short while later, they pulled into the station, and the doors of their shuttle slid open. They stepped out into a bustling crowd of people, most of whom seemed to have just disembarked from other shuttles. They were all making their way for a magnificent set of elaborately carved wooden doors on the far side of the terminal.

Slowly, they moved forward with the vast throng, and passed through the great doors into a beautifully proportioned hall lined with many seats. Hundreds of people were already sitting down, apparently waiting.

"Now, all we do is wait for the session to begin," said Nabus, sitting down in a vacant seat. The other six followed his lead.

Minutes slowly ticked by, as the mass of people murmured to each other, debating what was going to happen, and what the world governments were going to decide to do. They all seemed worried and anxious. But it was nothing compared to what Albus was feeling.

On one hand, reunion with Nabus Rucolfix would be one of the most welcome things he had experienced in several days. But what then? What were they going to say, if they were prompted to explain themselves? They might have no choice but to confess to everything, and what would the government officials do then? Rose had said that anyone found to have illegally traveled through time, no matter what the circumstances, would be either executed or purged from history. Already, their secret was known by many in this time period. But until now, no governments were aware of it. If they found out, would that be the end of them?

Maybe it was for the best, Albus thought. If they have the ability to wipe us from history, and they discover that Malfoy had done the same, could they erase Malfoy too? But it couldn't possibly that simple, or surely they would have done it before now, as a means of stopping him.

What if they just lied? Yes, that might work. They could come up with some more legitimate-sounding life story that wouldn't incriminate them. But no...these delegates could probably contact their respective governments and discover that their story was false.

No, there didn't seem to be any way around it. There was a very good chance that they were going to have to reveal it all. And if Albus was eliminated...well, there would be no hope of defeating Malfoy. His plan would succeed. Not that there wasn't a very good chance it would succeed anyway, but without Albus there would be absolutely no hope. Albus's only hope lay in Nabus Rucolfix. He was widely respected. He was the one who was supposed to be at the forefront of the planning. Perhaps he could find a way of getting them all off the hook.

"Albus, come on!"

Albus suddenly became aware that everyone was getting to their feet, and making their way toward a set of elevators similar to those that had existed at the headquarters of the Feather of Fawkes. But these elevators were carrying the people a much shorter distance. Once they had stepped inside and the doors had closed, it only took a few seconds for them to reach the top floor of the skyscraper. The doors slid back open, and they stepped out of the elevator.

The room was enormous and high-ceilinged, underneath a great curving dome. Surrounding the room was the largest window Albus had ever seen. It wrapped around the entire hall and looked at least a hundred feet high, giving a spectacular view of the sky around them. The seven of them were standing at the topmost row of a curving set of wooden benches that looked down upon a great circle of desks. Two people sat at each desk, underneath levitating country flags that indicated their nationality. In the center of the circle was a wooden platform, and standing in the center of the platform were two people. One of them looked to be the Secretary-General, who was apparently giving a hasty role call. The other one was Nabus Rucolfix, wearing a simple black suit and staring ahead with an expressionless face. Albus felt his heart leap.

"Observers, take your seats," boomed the magically magnified voice of the Secretary-General. "This conference is now in session."

The whispering crowd around Albus fell silent, and hastily sat down. Everyone peered curiously at the mass of delegates below, craning their necks to get a better view. Albus found his view partially blocked by a pair of heavyset women, but was still able to see most of what was going on.

"The purpose of this meeting is as follows," said the Secretary-General in a crisp, official-sounding voice. "To establish a set of collaborative measures which are to be taken by all applicable world governments, which will counteract the recent violent activities committed by the radical group known as the Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery. If any delegate does not stand in understanding, acknowledgment, agreement, and compliance of this purpose, please raise your hand."

None of the delegates raised their hands. So far, so good.

"I now give the stage to former countermovement leader Nabus Rucolfix," said the Secretary-General, stepping aside.

"Thank you, Secretary-General Dolbri," said Nabus wearily. "Now, to begin, I shall elaborate upon recent events so as to elucidate key matters of the..."

"Go," whispered Rasputin to Albus, nudging him. "Attract their attention. Make our presence known."

"But I thought you said...spectators aren't allowed..."

"I know, but we must reveal ourselves to my great uncle. Otherwise, there is little point in coming here."

Feeling nervous, Albus rose to his feet, crept along the benches, and made his way down to the bottommost row, ignoring the scandalized, disapproving glares from the people surrounding him. Even down here, they were still very far above the proceedings. Would Albus be able to attract his attention?

"Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?" hissed a voice. A security guard was making his way towards Albus. Without any further ado, Albus pressed his palm to his throat and muttered, "_Sonorus_."

Instantly, he felt a surge of power rising up from where his palm had touched. Apparently realizing what Albus was trying to do, the security guard dashed towards him, seizing him around the waist and bringing him crashing to the ground. He then clamped a hand around Albus's mouth, whispering sharply, "you were instructed to be silent."

Now, more security guards were approaching, some of them drawing their wands. Two of them pointed their wands at Albus and said, "_Silencio!_"

Albus wriggled free of the guard holding him and dodged the Silencing Charms in the nick of time. Just as several pairs of hands seized him from behind and began to pull him towards the exit, Albus shouted, "Mr. Rucolfix! Mr. Rucolfix, it's me!" His amplified voice echoed around the room.

Below, the proceedings fell silent. The delegates all looked up at the place where the voice had come from. Everyone looked outraged. Everyone, that is, except for Nabus Rucolfix, whose face registered only shock.

"All right, that's enough out of you. Let's go!" said one of the guards holding Albus, and they redoubled their efforts to drag him out of the room. But then, Nabus yelled from the platform, "Stop! STOP! Let go of him!"

The guards froze, and looked at each other, looking confused. But they did not relinquish their grip on Albus.

"I said let go of him!" said Nabus. "Let me see him."

The guards released him, and he dashed up to the edge of the tiers of benches, looking down at Nabus. Nabus looked up and saw him, and a look of incredulous delight spread across his face.

"Albus," he said. "Can it really be you? Are my eyes deceiving me?"

"What in the name of Merlin is going on?" demanded Secretary-General Dolbri. Nabus ignored him.

"How did you escape from the clutches of the Stingers?"

"It's a long story," replied Albus, his voice still booming from the Sonorus Charm. "But it's not just me. The others are here too."

"You mean your siblings and cousins?" exclaimed Nabus, as though he couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes, and more than them. Can we come down?"

Nabus shot a questioning look at Dolbri. "This is extremely irregular," he said.

"Yet crucially important for that," said Nabus.

"Oh, very well," said Dolbri irritably. "Escort him down!"

"And the other six?" said Albus. Dolbri cast his gaze towards Nabus, who nodded. "Yes, take them down too!" he said.

Albus turned and saw James, Lily, Rose, Hugo, Kramer, and Rasputin rise to their feet. They walked down the rows of benches and joined him. Everyone was staring at them, some looking astonished, others severely confused.

The group of guards beckoned to them, and led them to a small spiral staircase that took them down to a narrow, dark hallway. The hall opened out onto the lower level of the great room. The delegates were staring at them, looking quite as dumbfounded as the people above. They headed towards the platform on which Nabus and Dolbri were standing.

Nabus's eyes traveled from Albus, to his siblings and cousins, to Kramer, and came to rest on Rasputin, who was gazing intently back. He staggered backwards, as though the weight of what he was looking at had almost bowled him over. For several moments, they stared at each other in silence.

Finally, Nabus stepped down from the platform, tears in his eyes, and embraced Rasputin. "My nephew," he whispered in a choked voice.

"Great-Uncle." said Rasputin in reply. For a moment, it seemed as if all the years of imprisonment, all the suffering and experience and age, had simply melted away from Rasputin. He looked much younger somehow.

When they pulled away from each other, the pain had returned to Rasputin's face. "Can you ever forgive me?" he said, his voice cracking with emotion.

"There is nothing to forgive," said Nabus. "You have not committed any crime other than allowing yourself to be led astray by the ambitious and the powerful. You only sought to make the world a better place, and paid a terrible price when you learned the true way to go about it. It is I who should be begging your forgiveness...I gave up on you too quickly. I thought you were lost. For that, _I_ am sorry."

"Would somebody please tell me what is going on?" demanded Dolbri angrily.

And so they began to explain, each of them pitching in to include every possible detail. They told the crowd of delegates about Malfoy, about how he showed up from the distant past, and how he and Rasputin had formed plans to run away from Hogwarts and create a new world order. They told them everything that the pair of them had discovered, about older civilizations, fated duels, and the ultimate source of magic. They told them about how Malfoy founded the Circle, had transferred his power to the Stingers, and how he was planning to conquer the universe. They told them about how Rasputin had turned against Malfoy upon learning his latest plans, only to be imprisoned for decades within the bowels of Victoria Perfectus. And, when they could avoid it no longer, they told them about how as a child, Malfoy had also sent Albus and his friends into the future, and that they had been running from the Stingers ever since, gradually building up a picture of Malfoy's role in the future world and his ultimate plans.

Once they at last finished explaining everything, silence descended over the room. Nobody spoke for a full thirty seconds. Then, the Muggle delegate from France spoke in a shaky voice. "This goes deeper than we could ever have imagined."

"The leader of the Circle is from the past?" said Dolbri weakly.

Albus nodded. "As are we."

"Are you aware of the laws laid down against interference with the timeline?" said the wizarding delegate from Cambodia.

"We are all aware of it," said Nabus forcefully, stepping back onto the platform and looking around at everyone with a burning intensity. "But it is imperative that these laws not be upheld."

Albus rather thought that everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath.

"Consider," he said harshly. "If Albus and Malfoy are indeed destined to fight each other, then getting rid of Albus will cement Malfoy's victory. He will take over Sirius, and all will be lost. And you cannot possibly hope to erase Malfoy from the timeline...he will have taken measures to prevent that from happening."

"Why should we believe these children?" asked the Muggle delegate sitting under a flag Albus had never seen before.

"You have my word that they are truthful," said Nabus. "Furthermore, I believe that those who dismiss them are turning their backs on the world. They have discovered a terrible dark secret...one which fully-grown wizards and Muggles have searched for countless times, and came up empty, often fatally. If you ignore their warnings, you are sealing the fate of mankind."

There was an outbreak of furious muttering. Some of the delegates were looking resentful. Nabus's words carried a great deal of hostility, and what they were being told was difficult to swallow...yet Nabus commanded a great deal of respect, and what he was saying would mean they at least had _something_ to go on.

"I don't know about the rest of you," said Dolbri, stepping forwards, "but I'm convinced. These children's story may be outrageous, and it may have brought us tidings of nearly inevitable doom, but it is logical. And I motion that from this point forth, we base our plans upon the information they have provided."

"Seconded!" called out the wizarding delegate from the United Kingdom. Soon, all of the delegates were raising their hands in approval.

"Motion to adjourn!" cackled a horribly familiar voice from the upper benches. Everyone in the room spun around. A dozen of the spectators had stood up, and were roaring with malicious laughter. They were variously dressed in suits, dresses, and T-shirts with jeans. There was nothing at all unusual about their appearance, but their behavior was telling a different story. They fought their way to the bottom row and leaped off the balcony. And there they hung, floating above the wide-eyed delegates, roaring with malicious laughter.

Albus's blood ran cold.

The twelve floating figures raised their fists above their heads, and their skin began to melt away. But rather than revealing bone and muscle underneath, new layers were exposed, as though the first layers had been nothing more than garments. And as their clothes were shed with their skin, they were revealed to be wearing the familiar deep purple robes of the Stingers. Among this group were Chardmus, Whelmuran, and Vega, the one who had spoken.

"So courteous of you to come forward with our plans," sneered Chardmus. "Naturally, they cannot be stopped now, so we appreciate the publicity."

"What do you want from us?" screamed Dolbri, his face stark white.

"We came to deliver a message to Potter," said Whelmuran, a wild and almost hungry look in her eyes.

Albus said nothing. Though his heart was pounding fit to burst, and his chest felt encased in ice, he looked up at the Stingers, his face betraying no emotion.

"Our master has already departed for Sirius," said Vega. "But he hopes you will be so kind as to join him."

"Why doesn't he come and get me?" said Albus in what he hoped was a calm and level voice.

"Those aren't our orders," said a broad-shouldered Stinger with shoulder-length black hair and beard. "We're just the messengers."

"But while we're at it," said Whelmuran thoughtfully, playing with one of her orange curls, "we might as well have some fun!"

As one, the twelve Stingers aimed their palms at the ground. Rays of red light shot from their hands and collided with the ground in a blinding flash of light. As soon as everyone had got their bearings, the Stingers had vanished.

All at once, there were screams and yells. The building was trembling violently. Chunks of rubble were falling from the ceiling. The ground seemed to be dropping and heaving below their feet.

"Anyone incapable of Apparating, raise your hands!" bellowed Nabus, over the roaring and grinding and crunching of the disintegrating room. Hands flew up into the air. "Everyone who can, take at least one person with you!"

The noise of the crumbling structure was suddenly drowned out by a volley of pops and cracks as everyone began to vanish. Albus felt a hand grab hold of him and pull him into the dark, compressed feeling that always accompanied Apparition. Next thing he knew, Albus was lying face down on a concrete surface. The rumbling of the doomed building continued on, but fainter.

"Albus!" screamed Rose's voice. He found himself being roughly pulled to his feet. Albus got up and looked around. He hastily registered the figures of Kramer, who had also been knocked off his feet, Nabus, who seemed to have taken them to safety with Side-Along Apparition, and Rose, who was frantically pointing at the sky. He turned to look in the direction of her trembling finger.

What he saw looked like a nightmare.

They seemed to be standing on the roof of one of the other skyscrapers in New York. But this one was still only about half as tall as the UN building, which towered above them in the distance. And now Albus understood why he could still hear the rumbling.

The Stingers' curses hadn't just obliterated the top floor of the building; the entire tower was coming down! The top floors were caving in, crashing down on the lower floors and bringing them down too. And there was something more; it looked almost as though there was a heat haze hanging around the upper floors of the building.

"Magical interference," he whispered. Everyone was trying to Apparate out at once, and it was causing disruptions in the magical atmosphere.

As Albus watched, the collapse of the building seemed to gradually accelerate. It seemed that the combined weight of the crumpling top floors and the volatility of the magical environment was making the building fall faster and faster. Within a few seconds, the entire building, over a thousand stories, had tumbled to the ground. For where it had stood, an enormous cloud of dust and debris was riding into the air with a deafening crashing noise, forming billowing dark gray clouds which battered the surrounding buildings with a deadly rain.

Kramer trembled with horror. "It's like watching the destruction of the Partnership Monument again, but from farther away."

Albus sank to his knees. "James...Lily...Hugo..."

"They're all right," said Nabus at once. "I saw Rasputin Apparate them to safety just before I left."

Relief flooded Albus's chest, but he was still reeling from what had just happened.

"How...how many do you think are dead, Mr. Rucolfix?" asked Rose in a faint, quavering voice.

"Thousands, at least," said Nabus solemnly. "I think more people managed to escape than were trapped in there, but there will have been plenty who didn't manage to Apparate out in time. Then, there will be the damage to surrounding buildings. I think most people in there are probably okay, but a few will have been unlucky."

Albus swayed on the spot. In those few short seconds, thousands of people had died.

Then, he thought of something else...something worse.

"Vega said that Malfoy was already heading for Sirius," he said. "Does that mean it's too late to stop him?"

"I don't know," was Nabus's answer. "But I do know that if we do nothing quickly, we won't stand a chance."

He turned to face Albus. "Fortunately, every government in the world just agreed to contribute resources to our cause."


	13. The Coming War

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 13: The Coming War**

"Where are the others?" asked Rose. Her legs were trembling.

"I'm not sure." said Nabus. "I doubt they went too far."

Albus continued to stare at the still-expanding cloud of dust and debris blossoming above the place where the UN Tower had stood. Whelmuran's words echoed around his head: _While we're at it, we might as__ well have some fun!_ There had been no purpose to the carnage, no benefit, no place in a grander scheme. On a mere whim, as nothing more than an amusing diversion, the Stingers had killed thousands of innocent people. If they had this kind of power now, what would happen when Malfoy controlled all magic? Worse still, Malfoy was heading out to complete his plan at this very moment. Did they have any hope of stopping him?

"Albus, my boy," said Nabus wearily, turning to face him. "You have told me that it is your destiny to face Malfoy."

He nodded.

"Until now, I have taken charge in making all arrangements for your safety. But here lies the end of my prerogatives. I cannot force you to hide from this conflict, and nor can I push you into it. Now that the Feather of Fawkes has crumbled, I am no longer the leader of the resistance against the Circle. That role has passed to you."

"Me?" said Albus, his eyes widening. "But...but I..."

"Albus, you and Malfoy are now the two most powerful wizards in thousands of years." said Nabus seriously.

This statement nearly bowled Albus over. He had never thought of it that way. But it was perfectly true...as Malfoy's power had grown, so had his.

Nobody said anything for a long time. They simply watched, as the debris and dust slowly settled over the city, and a swarm of emergency vehicles, flying outside of the sky tubes, converged on the disaster area.

"You can't do it alone." said Nabus finally.

Albus turned to look at him, surprised. "I must." he said.

"Even if it must ultimately come down to you and Malfoy, you will require as much assistance as possible in the first phase of the battle." said Nabus.

"Battle?" said Albus.

"The Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery is a vast entity." said Nabus. "Aside from Malfoy, there are also at least thirty Stingers and thousands of lesser supporters. I do not believe Malfoy wants the duel to be an honorable or fair fight. He will attempt to take control of Sirius _before_ he attends to you. And his supporters will work to hold you back until he has become the master of magic. If you went alone, you would not be able to penetrate Malfoy's defenses in time. But if you had backup..."

"But how much more help could there be available?" said Albus desperately. "Who would come with me?"

"The question is," said Nabus, his mouth twitching, "who _wouldn't_ come with you?"

* * *

It took a few days for the entire operation to be prepared. At first, Albus had worried that there wouldn't be enough time, but Nabus assured him that it would take them much faster to reach Sirius than the Stingers. "According to reports, they are flying the entire fortress of Victoria Perfectus out to the region." he explained. "Something with so many magical enchantments must be carefully and slowly transported, lest any of the spells used to move it conflict with its existing protective curses."

This was a relief to hear, but it did not by any means vanquish his worries. Everywhere Albus went over the following days, during everything he did, he was weighted down by the imminent prospect of what he was facing. The coming war would decide the fate of all of humanity.

Nabus's prediction that Albus would have a colossal amount of resources at his disposal turned out to be absolutely correct. The first thing they had done was meet up with the UN delegates once more. Albus was relieved to discover that every single one of them had survived the disaster.

They had gathered in the Warp Pod Hall of New York City, which had been completely vacated for their use. The delegates all sat down on the floor, facing Nabus, Dolbri, and Albus, who were standing in the center of the great chamber.

"I have called for our respective nations' leaders to join us here." said Dolbri, addressing the crowd. "They should be arriving any moment now."

As if on cue, The Warp Pods around the hall simultaneously emitted brilliant pulses of light, expelling a mass of politicians. Prime ministers, presidents, kings and queens, legislators, and all manner of other government officials flooded the room. Presumably following a prearranged seating order, the group sat down on the floor in neat rows, exactly like the delegates, but on the opposite side of the three in the center.

"As all of you know," said Nabus solemnly, "Most of the planet is in complete disarray. Yesterday's worldwide announcement of the Stinger's latest plan has caused mass panic."

Albus suppressed a shudder. He had just the other day seen firsthand the impact of the impending doom. He had spent all of yesterday traveling from country to country with Nabus and Dolbri, beginning to relay and formulate plans for the final stand against Malfoy with the rest of the world. The story was the same everywhere they had gone. The news that the Stingers were planning to take control of the fundamental source of magic had staggered the public so badly that society simply couldn't function. Businesses were closed, schools were empty, and some cities were crippled by looting and mob rule.

"Fortunately, there are still millions of people who, rather than preparing for the end of the world, are ready to fight. Plenty of these people have enlisted in the resistance army we are assembling. The whole process is disorganized and chaotic, but it seems to be working; we now have a huge army which can assist Albus and his friends.

"The final stage of the operation can be completed by tonight. We are even now readying as many armed spacecraft as we can. We will depart for Nereid in the evening, rest up there, and warp to Sirius ten hours later. If our calculations are correct, we should arrive at Sirius only a few minutes after Victoria Perfectus. We must pray that that will buy us enough time."

* * *

"Albus, are you okay?" asked Kramer.

Albus didn't respond. Many hours later, the final phase of the preparations had been completed. They now had ten hours to rest on Nereid.

Kramer and Albus sitting inside an Axis that was sitting idle in a barren, empty valley. It had taken them most of the journey to become competent at driving the ship; at the beginning, their Axis had swerved drunkenly, barely keeping up with the rest of the fleet. Rob had made controlling the ship simple, but in fact it required a thorough sense for timing and precision. Fortunately, as they were flying through outer space, there were almost no obstacles to dodge, leaving them plenty of room for error even while flying at near the speed of light. Gradually, Albus and Kramer had figured out how to steer and accelerate smoothly. Albus wished he had his old Firebolt with him instead, but he doubted he could fly it through space anyway.

The rotating swarm of Axes was not the only element of the great military fleet. A whole host of other spacecraft were also taking part in the battle. There were sleek vessels that looked like Muggle fighter jets, but somehow banked and turned without air. There were flying saucers as large as football stadiums, with massively thick hulls and vast laser cannons. Still others had small, spherical cabins surrounded by two colossal engine bells. It all looked something like Muggle science fiction from Albus's time, but it was all made possible by magic.

Albus looked around at the Axis to their left, which contained James, Rose, and Rob Carter, and then at the Axis to their right, which held Lily, Hugo, and Rasputin. The remaining members of the Feather of Fawkes were occupying the remaining Axes, and would be following Albus and Kramer, protecting them from enemy fire.

Those in various military forces on Earth, meanwhile, were piloting the other small and medium sized spacecraft. They had already received extensive training in spaceflight, and these other ships, though harder to pilot and easier to hit than Axes, were better armed and more capable of wreaking havoc. There was a fairly equal mix of wizard and Muggle pilots in this section of the fleet.

The most crucial phase of all, however, was that which was to be carried out by the massive flying saucers. These ships not only had the most destructive weapons, but also carried all of the volunteers who had limited skills with weapons but proficient magical power. Victoria Perfectus was protected by some of the most powerful magic known to wizardkind, Dark and otherwise, but as Nabus had said, even the mightiest enchantments can be overwhelmed. Their proximity to Sirius would drastically increase the power of the enchantments on Victoria Perfectus, but it would have an equally strong effect on the power of the resistance army's magic.

Sensor probes launched by the vast saucers would be able to provide them with a general idea of the network of enchantments placed upon the colossal fortress, and the sorcery tacticians on the lower levels would then hastily work out the most efficient way to break them. Once they had ascertained the ideal attack strategy, the sorcery tacticians would relay it to the wizards on the upper levels, who would use that strategy to attack Victoria Perfectus. In theory, this plan would not only make the floating fortress an easier target, but also create a window of opportunity for Albus to penetrate the defenses, enter the fortress, and find Malfoy.

This last part was the key to the entire battle. As Nabus had stressed many times, the primary objective of the battle wasn't to kill the Stingers, or to cripple their weaponry, or even to destroy Victoria Perfectus. It was to open a gap in the Circle's protective enchantments quickly enough so that Albus could get past them and engage Malfoy in a duel before his plan was complete. And then...

What would Albus do? His magic may have been powerful, and in terms of raw magical ability he might surpass every other wizard alive. He might even be Malfoy's equal. But his magical education stopped woefully short. True, he had always been exceptional in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, but he had only three years of magical education from Hogwarts, and a few months' training at the Mariner Valley Academy.

"I said, are you okay?" repeated Kramer.

Albus jumped, and looked at him. He wanted to lie, to say he was fine, and confident that everything would turn out for the best. But the words simply wouldn't come. Finally, he confessed his fears about Malfoy to Kramer, who listened patiently as Albus spoke.

Kramer stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You know, Malfoy didn't have any more education than you, Albus. Don't you remember what we saw in the Pensieve Fountain?"

"But he didn't need it...he learned everything on his own." said Albus hopelessly.

"Maybe you don't need it either." replied Kramer softly.

Albus stared at him.

"You need to stop thinking of Malfoy as the superior wizard." he said. "I think you've got just as much magic, if only you would tap into it."

"How will I ever tap into it in time? Malfoy's had years to master his own abilities. I have hours!"

"I think that when the time comes that you two are facing each other, you'll find it." said Kramer.

"You can't possibly know that." said Albus.

"No, I can't, but I've just got this...feeling." said Kramer. "And you haven't seen your abilities the way others see them, Albus. You don't even realize how powerful you already are! You can cast magic without a wand. You can produce spells without the slightest bit of effort. If you really unleashed everything you've got, you'd easily be an equal to Malfoy."

Albus was not at all sure that Kramer was right. But his words made him think. It was true that abilities were increasing all the time.

"Malfoy's done a lot to disrupt the natural order." said Albus.

"I'm not convinced that that will end up being the better for him." said Kramer. "Yeah, he's made himself more powerful, but perhaps that power is illusory. Maybe his tampering with the cycle of magic will cause his abilities to fail him when he needs them most."

Albus was forcibly reminded of Voldemort. What Kramer was saying about Malfoy sounded a lot like what Voldemort had done. Terrified of defeat and death, Voldemort had sought to make himself invincible by splitting his soul into several pieces and confining them in physical vessels called Horcruxes. But by making his soul so unstable and mutilated, Voldemort had developed a kind of supernatural frailty that ultimately destroyed him.

Malfoy had also violated the laws of nature, by artificially transforming his magical abilities through the power of Sirius. But unlike tearing apart the soul, Malfoy's profanation of magic did not present an obvious disadvantage. He was not compromising any part of himself to gain his power. Albus couldn't see any way that Malfoy's actions could end up being his undoing. Certainly Kramer's view was comforting, but Albus doubted it would ever play out that way.

"But what about the discouraging historical record? In all of the fated duels of the past, the Dark side had always won." Albus said.

Kramer looked at him. "True, but history doesn't show us a reason for it. We don't know that the triumph of evil is also destiny. This battle is different from any that came before it. Maybe that will be different too."

Albus turned away, mulling it all over. When you came down to it, he realized, none of it really mattered. Not now, anyway. No matter what the stakes, no matter what the outcome would be, he _had_ to face Malfoy. Destiny was not carved in stone. He had the choice to walk away. But he couldn't. It wasn't right.

Looking up into the starry sky above the canyon, Albus felt himself drifting off. The last thing he wanted to do was go to sleep, but so much had happened in the past few days that he was too exhausted to resist. _Soon, the final stand against the Dark side will begin_, he thought, before surrendering to the blackness closing in around him.


	14. Absorption

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 14: Absorption**

Albus's eyes snapped open. He knew it was time. The sound of the revving engines filling the air was proof of that.

Leaning over, he shook Kramer awake. "Wha..." Kramer looked around wildly, then grew alert and serious. "I'm ready, Albus," he said. "And I'm with you to the end."

The end. What would the end be? Albus knew he had to stop thinking this way. He would never succeed with such gloomy thoughts burdening him.

Nabus's voice boomed across the valley. "It is time for the saucers to depart. Cast the Disillusionment Charms now!"

With booming roars, the colossal flying saucers rose into the air, and seemed to melt before everyone's eyes. Soon, they were completely invisible.

Suddenly, the unseen engines of the saucers let out earsplitting shrieks. There was a boom, and then echoing silence. The ships had warped to Sirius. Their initial objective was to hide from Victoria Perfectus, and launch the probes.

Nabus spoke again. "Now, the battlecraft. Assemble and advance!"

The larger ships scattered around the valley lifted into the air and entered into formation. Turning in midair, they zoomed into the air as white streaks, then vanished.

"Lastly, the Axes. Proceed!"

Albus and Kramer switched places, Kramer sitting in the pilot's seat. Over the course of their journey to Nereid, Kramer had proved to be the better pilot. Albus, meanwhile, would be casting magic, both to defend the Axis and to attack enemy ships.

Kramer seized both joysticks, and the Axis rose off the ground, grouping with the rest of them. Albus looked out the window and saw his friends doing the same in their own Axes.

"Okay, Albus, you know the drill," said Kramer. "I'll engage the warp drive, and you'll channel your magic into the engines."

One by one, the Axes around them were vanishing in jets of light.

"Now!"

Kramer threw a switch and pushed the joystick forward with all his might. Albus began to focus his mind, thinking elaborate incantations that seemed to come from nowhere. At once, the outside view twisted. Strange shapes and colors flashed past as they approached their destination. Then, with a screech from the engine, the sensation ended, and they were in space again. But now, there was a brilliant, white star in their field of vision.

"_Obscuro Illuminatus!_" cried Albus hastily. The blinding glare vanished.

His heart was pounding. Now that the battle was about to start, his mind turned to his siblings and cousins. What was going to happen to them? He could never forgive himself if they died in their attempt to help him. He would not let it happen. He would end this battle the moment he got the chance.

All at once, several shapes became visible through the brightness, approaching fast from Sirius. "They know we're here," said Albus quietly.

The great warship that had destroyed the headquarters of the Feather of Fawkes was surrounded by thousands and thousands of the same type of spiky ship that had pursued Albus, Kramer, and Rob as they had fled to Nereid. What was more, several streaks of red light were zooming this way and that between the ships. The Stingers.

At once, many of the Axes and battlecraft vanished. The wizard pilots were casting more Disillusionment Charms. The Muggles, on the other hand, were unable to obscure themselves.

Jets of light rained down on the ships around Albus and Kramer. Some of them exploded. The Stingers had drawn the first blood.

Immediately, Albus turned his head to face the approaching enemy spacecraft. To his surprise, a wave of red energy shot from his head and out of the Axis, flying at a group of four ships. Two were destroyed, and a third was knocked off course.

"Wow!" said Kramer, his eyes widening, looking as astonished as Albus felt.

The next moment, everyone was surging forward, flying in the direction of Sirius, plowing through the opposing forces. Spiky ships were being blasted aside everywhere they looked. Albus and Kramer were flying with a small cluster of Axes, and when Albus looked out the window, he saw James, Rose, and Rob in the ship beside them. James turned to him and mouthed "Good luck, Al" through the window. Albus waved back, and directed his attention ahead once more.

And then, the tide of the battle began to turn. The Circle was fighting back.

The fleet of spiky ships had regrouped above the Axes and battlecraft, and were circling back in for a fresh attack. Meanwhile, the vast warship was firing the same missiles that had destroyed the Feather of Fawkes headquarters at the swarm of approaching ships. Huge explosions tore through the fleet.

Then, a massive beam of energy came out of nowhere and hit the warship. The invisible saucers were joining the battle.

"Push on!" Nabus's voice boomed out. "We must reach Victoria Perfectus!"

The warship was badly damaged. Flames were pouring out of the spot that had been hit. But the Stingers were converging on the spot, using their powers to repair the gaping wound in the side of the vessel.

"Get me close to the Stingers," said Albus. "I'll take them out."

Kramer changed course and headed for the warship. Albus channeled his power into the Axis's energy cannon, launching spells at the Stingers. They turned around and streaked towards the ship, deflecting everything and firing curses of their own.

"_Protego!_" Albus bellowed.

A protective bubble encased the Axis. Many of the spells glanced off of it, but the stronger curses managed to penetrate the Shield Charm. Three jets of green light collided with the Axis. The Killing Curses did not have as powerful an effect on the vehicle as they would have had on a person, but they still caused the Axis to jerk around and fly backwards.

At that moment, another huge beam from one of the saucers blasted the warship. The force of the blast buffeted the Axis and forced the Stingers to scatter.

"Never mind!" yelled Albus over the magical flashes and blasts around them. "Let's just get to the fortress!"

As they zoomed away to join the other Axes ahead of them, Albus heard the largest blast yet behind them. The third hit to the warship blew it apart. Massive chunks of the formidable ship flew in every direction. Some of them tore into the battling vessels, knocking ships from both sides into oblivion.

"Yeeeeaaah!" yelled Kramer, punching the air. Victoria Perfectus suddenly became visible, a black shadow against the blazing white background of Sirius. They were almost there!

But the Circle wasn't done.

The Stingers regrouped some distance ahead of the advancing fleet, and all of a sudden, a crackling, translucent wall of magic had spread out before the ships. This enormous, growing sheet of energy was blocking the fleet from advancing, preventing them from reaching Victoria Perfectus.

"What do we do now?" said Kramer nervously.

Albus focused every particle of his being upon forcing a hole through that wall. Suddenly, he fell back into his seat. Everything had gone black and silent. He was in unbearable pain. It was as though every nerve in his body was burning. He no longer knew where he was. Everything was darkness and unbearable agony.

"Albus!" he heard a voice yell. The pain lifted slightly, and he saw Kramer shaking him. Mustering up his energy, he concentrated on driving the curse out of his body. The torment continued for several more seconds, and then the spell broke, and Albus was lying limp in his seat, gasping.

"I guess we can't get past the wall that way." he said unnecessarily.

Kramer fired a volley of blasts at the wall. Nothing happened.

And then, the wall began to move towards them. The Stingers were pushing it in the direction of the oncoming ships, attempting to force them back. All the while, the Circle's ships were zipping around like mosquitoes, tearing the battlecraft to pieces.

The wall caught up with some of the ships at the front, which disintegrated on contact. The invisible saucers were trying to shoot down the wall, but the tremendous blasts of magic had no effect. The saucers stopped the attack, and Albus knew that the sorcery tacticians in the lower levels were trying to bring back the probes from Victoria Perfectus, to analyze the wall instead. But nothing was happening.

More ships were vaporized by the expanding wall of energy. The fleet was beginning to turn around. Some panicked pilots attempted to warp away, but some invisible force seemed to be holding them back. Albus looked up at the Stingers, floating in front of the deadly barrier they had created. They were much too far away to see in detail, but they were now glowing a brilliant yellow. Albus realized that they were absorbing power from their enemies, strengthening themselves and weakening Nabus's fleet at the same time.

Albus couldn't take it. So much death and destruction, all for Albus's own sake. Was this the same kind of horror that had risen up in his father, on that night that so many of his friends had perished fighting Voldemort on his behalf?

There was only one thing to do.

"Get out of here." Albus said to Kramer. "Fall back with the other Axes. I'm going after the Stingers."

"You can't!" cried Kramer. "You'd be fighting all of Scorpius's most powerful henchmen at once! They'd overpower you."

"Maybe...but I can't let anyone else die on my account." I said. "It's the only way."

And with that, Albus vanished. He reappeared outside the Axis, sailing through space towards the top of the wall. Nor was he the only one. As other wizards noticed what he was doing, many copied him. For a moment, he didn't understand this. How could they be tapping into this power as well? But then, he realized that it was their proximity to Sirius. Everyone's magical power had been amplified by the brilliant star. Unfortunately, the Stingers too enjoyed these increased abilities.

Albus was now flying unsupported, straight for the wall, dozens and dozens of others alongside him. Albus saw faces he recognized: Nabus, Rasputin, Dolbri. And there were also many others who Albus knew only by sight, such as the Hogwarts teachers and a few former members of the Feather of Fawkes. All of them were streaking towards the group of Dark wizards hovering in front of the magical barrier.

Then, the Stingers attacked.

Rays of green light rained down upon Albus and the others. None of them found their mark. A rain of red beams flew right back at the Stingers, who deflected them effortlessly. The Stingers rose into the air, purple robes billowing around them, arms raised, shimmering with that strange yellow glow.

And then, abruptly, the groups split up, and everyone was dueling viciously. Nabus was battling Chardmus and Whelmuran, easily dodging their curses but failing to land any spells of his own. Streaks of light and explosions surrounded Rasputin and Vega. Albus found himself locked in furious combat with the broad-shouldered Stinger he had seen at the UN Tower. Just as when he had been transferring his energy into the Axis, Albus did not give the magic any conscious thought...the incantations powering the counter-curses he was hurling at the Stinger were simply materializing within the depths of his mind. He knew that the power of Sirius had transformed him somehow. But he couldn't pause to dwell on this, because any one of the curses he was dodging and parrying and blocking was capable of destroying him instantly.

One moment, he had the upper hand, the next, he was being pushed back towards the wall. But slowly, the Stinger was dominating him. He had to do something quickly, or he would end up being incinerated in the barrier behind him.

Suddenly, Dolbri came flying out of nowhere. The Secretary-General made a slashing movement, and a wave of brilliant white light descended on the Stinger. He bellowed in pain. Before he could recover, Albus knocked him back with two spells. He spun wildly, flying back through space. Albus suddenly felt a release of pressure, as though something that had been restraining him had just given way. The Stinger had been draining his essence in order to overpower him.

In that instant, Albus knew what he had to do to win the battle.

Floating towards the dazed Stinger, Albus concentrated upon wielding his power...about taking it away from him. A shining warmth coursed through his body, and he began to glow. He knew it had worked. His power had grown.

He turned to face Dolbri, whose face registered nothing but shock. "Oh...how selfish of me." said Albus. He channeled some of his power into the Secretary-General, who started to glow himself.

"We need all the help we can get to win this one." Albus told him. "I think our best bet is to beat them at their own game."

Others had noticed what Albus had done, and began to fight harder than ever, determined to absorb magic from the Stingers themselves. Nabus and Rasputin were now glowing brilliantly. Half of the Stingers were now floating limply, sapped of their strength.

Suddenly, Whelmuran slammed into Albus's side. Albus spun wildly away, and Whelmuran advanced on him, snarling. She thrust her fists forward, and Albus was forced to twist his body to avoid two jets of green light.

"Imbecile!" bellowed Vega, who was fighting back-to-back with Chardmus within coiling twists of flame, and was glaring at Whelmuran. "Our orders are to deliver him to Victoria Perfectus, weakened, incapacitated, but not dead!"

"To hell with orders!" she shrieked back. "He is mine!"

Albus seized the opportunity to throw a curse of his own at her. She spun around just in time to block it and retaliated with another volley of spells. He merely swatted them away. Whelmuran was powerful, but he was energized with more magic than he had ever felt.

Albus heard a cry of pain. Rasputin was blasted aside as Vega charged towards him. It was now two on one.

Vega raised his palm, but Albus was too quick for him. He blocked Vega's and shot it at Whelmuran instead. She merely dodged it and sent another Killing Curse at Albus.

"Get away from him!" roared Vega. "He must be brought in alive!" He then directed a curse at Whelmuran, who had not expected it and screamed in pain, her limbs contorting. Seizing her by the neck, he hissed, "Your disgusting arrogance has blinded you to our mission. You will not live to see the glory bestowed upon me." He then threw her into the wall of energy. She vanished the moment she made contact.

Vega then turned to Albus. "My triumph will ensure me a seat right next to Malfoy as he establishes the new order."

The next thing Albus knew, he was avoiding curse after curse, dodging them by inches, blocking some, countering. Albus could tell that Vega was indeed aiming to capture, but it didn't matter. If Vega overpowered him, he would be too weakened to resist Malfoy when he was delivered to Victoria Perfectus.

Albus looked around, still blocking curses, sensing Vega's attacks as he directed his attention to the other fighters. Chardmus was floating unconscious, having succumbed to one of Nabus's spells. Vega was the only Stinger left fighting, but he was singlehandedly winning.

Nabus and Rasputin flew forwards to help Albus, but were knocked back by a ring of blue light Vega had cast over his shoulder. Nobody was able to penetrate this mysterious shield; it was just Vega and Albus in the center, fighting.

And then, Albus felt the warm glow of magic entering his body. That didn't make sense. How was he absorbing magic? Then, he realized that the wizards and witches surrounding the circle of blue light were directing their own power into Albus, giving him their abilities. Emboldened, Albus blocked three curses at once and swiped at Vega, hitting him with a streak of yellow light. Vega yelled, and the circle of light vanished. At once, every one of the wizards surrounding them sent a different spell flying at Vega. They collided with him with a blinding flash, and the Stinger was flung backward, into the wall. Like Whelmuran, Vega disappeared instantly...and the moment he was gone, the giant wall of energy disappeared, too.

"Now's our chance!" bellowed Nabus. "We've got to break the enchantments on Victoria Perfectus before Malfoy takes control of Sirius! Time is short; we must make haste!"

As one, the wizards around Albus flew back towards the fleet of ships, now surging ahead towards Victoria Perfectus. Albus followed Rasputin.

"Is that it?" he yelled. "Did defeating the Stingers break Malfoy's defenses?"

"No." said Rasputin grimly. "The Stingers and the warship and the attack ships were only the first line of defense. Now we're going to be facing the magic guarding the fortress."

Albus felt a stab of worry. If they had only just broken through the first line, what would be waiting for them up ahead?

The answer came quickly. A huge solar storm erupted from Sirius, fiery and ominous. It engulfed Victoria Perfectus, and then surged towards the oncoming fleet of ships like some sort of stellar tsunami.

And it didn't stop there. Pieces of the fiery wave split off and began to twist and writhe.

Rasputin gasped. "Malfoy's using Sirius's power to create an army of beasts!"

Thousands upon thousands of brilliant white globules of magical power had assumed the shapes of hideous, oversized creatures. Dragons, Chimaeras, Manticores, Acromantula, Quintapeds, and other bloodthirsty monsters were roaring and screeching and howling. And behind this surging mass of deadly beasts was an army of Dementors, brilliant white instead of black, sucking on their surroundings despite the total lack of air.

The monsters attacked, grabbing Axes and battlecraft and devouring them on the spot. The retaliatory spells fired at them merely glanced off their glowing hides. The fleet was being destroyed before Albus's eyes.

He flew toward Nabus, who was surveying the carnage from above. "Sir, you've got to get these people out of here. There's no way they can defeat this army."

"It will all have been for nothing if we turn back now." said Nabus gravely.

"I didn't say anything about turning back." said Albus. "Just get them out of here. I'll break through the rest of the enchantments myself."

Nabus turned to face him. "You cannot get through all of that alone, Albus. That's why we brought a fleet of ships to aid you."

"They've done their job." I said. "We've taken out the Stingers. We're already partway in. These enchantments are powerful, but they were all cast by one person. They aren't more powerful than Malfoy himself. They will have weak points. I can get past them."

Nabus looked uncertain.

Albus said, "If I can't get through the rest of these defenses on my own, how can you expect me to defeat Malfoy when I finally come face to face with him?"

"That is a fair point." said Nabus. "You have convinced me, Albus. I will call off the attack. But we'll stand by. Say the word, and we'll advance again. And the saucers will continue their attempt to dismantle the defenses. We can't destroy them outright, but we can make it easier for you to get through."

"All right." said Albus confidently. He knew he had the power to end this. To end the senseless violence, and the slaughter of these brave people who had rushed to his aid.

It all depended on how he used it.

Albus shot off towards the section of Sirius that Victoria Perfectus had sunk into...towards the charging monsters.


	15. To The Center Of Sirius

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 15: To The Center Of Sirius**

Closer and closer the charging wall of bellowing beasts came. As the great army retreated, Albus flew forward through space, rushing to meet the new wave.

Suddenly, he was swiping and slashing, and great multicolored arcs rained from his arms. A few dragons exploded, but most of the army seemed unfazed. Albus continued to slash and cut, and a phalanx of Quintapeds dissolved into mist. However, his best efforts were making little difference. He had no hope of destroying the entire army. Malfoy had perhaps spent years and years tinkering with and strengthening his defensive enchantments. Albus had only seconds to break them.

And then, it hit him. He didn't _have_ to destroy the entire army. He just had to fight his way through it. This was still a horrifying prospect, but at least it was manageable.

Albus frantically scanned the pack of monsters sailing through space. There was a tiny gap between the gaping maw of a fiery Basilisk and the explosive plodding footsteps of a roaring Nundu beast. Without thinking, Albus shot towards the gap.

Realizing what he was doing, the Basilisk and the Nundu turned to face him. With a single movement, Albus swiped a thin golden tongue of flame at them, severing the serpent's head and plunging through the place where the giant leopard's heart would have been. Both of them exploded with tremendous force, and in the nick of time, Albus managed to encase himself in a protective shell of light, blocking the deadly wave of energy surrounding him.

Now that he was inside the eruption of creatures, Albus was locked in a dozen such battles every second. He had to attack, to plan, to dodge, to counter, and to defend. He didn't know whether time had slowed down or his own body had sped up, but he couldn't afford to devote any of his brainpower to the question. He dealt a savage blow to a trio of charging Chimaeras, dodged the descending paw of a screaming Manticore, deflected a column of fire back at the dragon who had cast it, and sliced the front legs off a thrashing Acromantula. He had no way of knowing how far he had penetrated, or how much longer he would have to keep on fighting. All that was real to him were the bellows of the monsters and the groping claws and stingers.

Suddenly, as one of Albus's spells dissolved something that looked suspiciously like a Blast-Ended Skrewt, he was spat out of the rear of the charging beasts, and sailing through clear space. He had done it. He had broken through the second line of defense.

Or had he?

The swooping, blindingly white army of Dementors was gliding towards Albus, their mouths rattling and sucking even though there was no air surrounding them. Albus felt an icy chill flooding his body as hope and happiness was pulled away. And now, Albus's powers were starting to slip away. He was losing the ability to control his flight, and his will to cast magic was dwindling. The hooded figures were now bearing down upon Albus, starting to lower their hoods.

Albus screwed up his concentration, doing what his father had done so many times in his adventures. He focused as hard as he could upon the thought of defeating Malfoy, of restoring peace to the universe. His strength was returning. He thrust out his palm.

A tremendous, brilliantly silver stag burst forth and connected with the closest Dementor. The evil creature was knocked flying, but even before it had dissolved into nothingness, the stag was bearing down upon the rest of the army. As warmth and energy came flooding back, Albus forced more and more of his power into his Patronus. The stag charged, blasting Dementors out of its way. Albus shot forwards, landing squarely on the stag's back, and muttered, "Let's do this."

Soon, the stag had broken through the wall of Dementors and was galloping through space towards the surface of Sirius, Albus gripping tightly with his legs and shouting encouragement. Now, they had truly breached this line of defense.

But Malfoy clearly wasn't giving up.

Suddenly, there was a blue flash of light that obscured Albus's vision. Instinctively, Albus cast another shield of light around himself and his Patronus, just in time to block that tremendous wave of heat and radiation that swept over them. Albus had no doubt what had just happened. Malfoy had excluded him from the enchantments of Victoria Perfectus, and now he was vulnerable to the energy of the great star.

Before Albus could do anything else, he had broken through the surface of Sirius. His stag dissolved into silver smoke as he concentrated all of his efforts upon maintaining the shield around himself. He couldn't keep the shield going much longer; if he didn't think of something quickly, he would be vaporized.

It then occurred to him what he had to do.

Malfoy wouldn't have dared bring down the enchantments of Victoria Perfectus, or he would have risked meeting the same fate that he was attempting to inflict upon Albus. He was surely fighting the enchantments himself, using a constant stream of his own power to exclude Albus, which meant that if Albus could block the spell, he would be safe.

Still keeping the shield as strong as he could, Albus reached out with his mind, searching for Malfoy's. In no time, he found it…the spell was coming from a place far in front of him. Slowly, he began to redirect his energy towards breaking that spell. As the shield started to diminish, more and more of the heat of Sirius crept inside. It was growing unbearable. He couldn't hold out much longer.

Then, just as Albus was about to give up and redouble his efforts to shield himself, the spell was broken, and the terrible heat subsided. The defensive magic of Victoria Perfectus was protecting him once more.

As Albus continued to fly straight for the center of Sirius, he kept on the alert, just in case Malfoy attempted to exclude him again, but it seemed that Malfoy had given up on that particular defense, as minute after uneventful minute passed by.

And then, suddenly, all the wind was knocked out of Albus as he collided with something solid. He bounced backwards, and, giving his head a few shakes, pushed against the barrier. It did not give. Malfoy had clearly constructed this shield to buy himself extra time.

Albus pounded and blasted the invisible wall with spell after spell, with no effect. There was no getting around it. It seemed designed to withstand anything.

So maybe if Albus couldn't go through it, he would be able to go around it.

Fixing his mind upon Victoria Perfectus, Albus spun on the spot and felt his way through oblivion. But no sooner had he begun to Apparate then he was obstructed, just as he had done last time he had tried to vanish.

That didn't make any sense. The enchantments preventing Apparition within Victoria Perfectus only worked if you were already inside the fortress. So why…?

Comprehension flooded Albus's mind. This meant that he was already at Victoria Perfectus. Or almost there, anyway. His proximity to the fortress had put him within range of at least one of its Dark enchantments.

Might it be possible for him to undo this enchantment?

He focused his mind, willing it to show him the structure of the magic imprisoning him. He was immediately confronted with a vision of bewildering complexity. Yet in that instant, he instinctively knew what to do.

From within his subconscious mind, there sprung a volley of spells and charms the like of which Albus had never seen before. Now, more than ever, he felt as though an invisible hand was guiding him, showing him the answer. Bewildering as it was, he did not question it, for this magic had now done its job. Albus could now Apparate through the barrier.

Once more, Albus twisted around and stepped forward into nothingness. And this time, nothing blocked his way. When he was released from the feeling of compression and opened his eyes, he was standing on the familiar black, shiny surface of the outer wall of Victoria Perfectus.

And Malfoy was standing right in front of him, staring at him unblinkingly.

Slowly, deliberately, Albus walked towards the leader of the Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery…towards the spiteful young boy who had grown up to threaten the very source of magic.

"Let's be honest." said Albus coldly, drawing nearer and nearer. Now that he was here, now that he was staring at Malfoy, a font of rage and contempt was burgeoning in his chest. "You weren't expecting me to get this far, were you?"

Malfoy said nothing.

"You didn't think I could get past your defenses. You thought there wouldn't even be a duel; that you could just take over Sirius and smite me then and there, right?"

Again, Malfoy remained silent. He simply stood there, looking at Albus, his face betraying no expression. Finally, at long last, he spoke.

"You are destined to lose." said Malfoy quietly. "You know it, and I know it. History is written in the blood of people like you…the tolerant, the forgiving, the _weak_."

"None of the old rules apply, Malfoy." said Albus. "You've violated the balance of the universe. What if that balance fights back?"

"Balance?" sneered Malfoy. "To what balance are you referring? The balance that made Muggles drive wizards into hiding? The balance that welcomed the Muggles back into the fold, unpunished? The balance that grants magic to the undeserving?"

"No." said Albus. "I mean the balance that restored peace and harmony to the universe. The one that held Muggle ingenuity in equal esteem to magical power. The one that doesn't accept your hateful philosophy."

Albus took another step towards Malfoy. "Are you proud to be fighting for that which has destroyed the world a thousand times over?"

Malfoy snarled. "I'm proud to cleanse the universe of the unworthy." he said, pointing a bony finger at Albus.

"You couldn't even beat me in an unfair fight." said Albus with a harsh laugh. "How do you expect to beat me in a fair one?"

"Fair?" cackled Malfoy. "On the contrary, Albus Potter. Nothing I'm going to do to you is _fair_."

And then, without warning, he attacked.


	16. The Duel

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 16: The Duel**

Albus and Malfoy were slashing and twisting and diving through the charged, flashing air, attacking, blocking, dodging, and countering. Albus could no longer feel the outside world. He wasn't even aware of the blinding, churning innards of Sirius surrounding them. He could only see the figure in front of him, his arms spewing deadly curses.

"You are nothing!" screamed Malfoy, a solid beam of green light shooting from his palm. "You and your kind are insignificant weaklings. There will be no voice for individuals such as you in my new order. You will be crushed like ants!"

Albus said nothing, but dodged the stream of Killing Curses and retaliated with a brilliant purple orb that knocked Malfoy backwards. Albus hurled himself forwards, preparing to strike again, but Malfoy had recovered and had circled behind Albus before he realized what had happened. Malfoy's curse hit Albus squarely in the back, and the next thing he knew, black flames were licking all over his body.

Fighting the terrible pain, Albus concentrated every fiber of his being upon turning the magic against its caster. At once, the flames were sucked inside Albus's body. But now they were no longer burning him. Albus thrust his arms into the air, and a great vortex formed above his head, howling and swirling. When Albus brought his arms down to point at Malfoy, the vortex turned into an unbroken stream of light which bathed Malfoy in a brilliant glow.

When the light died, Malfoy emerged unharmed. He thrust his arms out to the side, and bellowed like a wounded beast. The walls of plasma surrounding the empty space in which they were standing began to spin, faster and faster.

"See how Sirius bends to my will?" Malfoy roared, as Sirius churned and swirled around them. "See how the seat of magic longs to submit to my command? The universe is Dark, Potter. Nature is Dark. You aren't fighting me. You're fighting the laws of magic! They will not give…and neither shall I!"

Another blast of green light surged towards Albus. He vanished and reappeared behind Malfoy. Malfoy blocked Albus's spell and retaliated with a series of blue streaks. Albus felt the spells slashing his chest like swords, and tumbled backwards towards the rushing walls of plasma.

"Magic is power, Potter. Magic is authority. Magic is the arbiter of the strong and the weak. The blasphemous hold Muggles have over wizards is about to crumble for good. Muggles will at last be given what they deserve!"

Albus vanished again, this time reappearing in front of Malfoy and launching a volley of fresh spells. Malfoy blocked most of them, but a few made contact with his chest, and he was thrown upwards, yelling in pain and surprise.

Emboldened, Albus flew upwards to meet him, palm raised and glowing. But Malfoy was already back in control, and Albus had to duck to avoid another jet of green light. Albus aimed another spell at Malfoy that missed him by a fraction of an inch, but the momentum carried him uncontrollably past his quarry, and before Albus could do anything else, Malfoy was in front of him.

A pair of hands shot out and seized Albus's arms. Albus was unable to move; he seemed paralyzed by Malfoy's glowing eyes. "It's time to end this." Malfoy sneered triumphantly.

And now, Albus felt his strength leaving him as rapidly as water from a draining tub. He tried to resist Malfoy, but it was too late. His power was being drained away into his opponent, who was leering in triumph. Malfoy pushed Albus roughly away from him, and Albus hung limp in the air, unable to summon any force at all.

"I had expected a greater challenge, seeing as you managed to breach my other defenses." said Malfoy with cold amusement. "But I guess that isn't how it was supposed to be. This duel is over."

Malfoy raised his fists above his head. "And now, Potter, you are going to get a privilege I did not intend to bestow upon you. You will be allowed to watch the dawn of the new order. The power of Sirius is mine!"

The walls of Sirius were now churning faster than ever. The previously smooth sides of the empty chamber now became rough, like the ocean in a storm. As the conditions grew more and more energetic, Victoria Perfectus began to tremble. Albus watched as the fortress's protective magic began to break up. Suddenly, the protruding towers of Victoria Perfectus started to vanish as the energy of Sirius broke through the enchantments. Within a few seconds, the entire structure had crumpled, broken apart, and disintegrated.

Malfoy showed no reaction to the loss of his fortress, simply roaring with triumphant laughter. And now, Malfoy began to move through the air, heading for the central point where Victoria Perfectus had just vanished…the very center of Sirius. And there he hung, rotating slowly, limbs outstretched, the wild laughter barely audible over the roar of energy.

Malfoy's lips began to move, forming incantations that Albus could not hear. He knew what was happening. This was it. The final play. In a few seconds, Malfoy would become the master of magic.

Then, Malfoy stopped speaking, resuming the terrible laughter. The spinning of the walls grew even more violent, and now the whiteness was being replaced by a rainbow of glowing, swirling colors. Streaks of red, dazzling bolts of blue, bursts of yellow and orange and purple. Albus was powerless. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't even move.

Suddenly, tentacles of blue light extended from the swirling walls, snaking through the air as they gathered towards the center. And in that instant, Albus knew what was going to happen. For the first time, a small smile formed on his face.

The jagged bolts collided in the center, converging on the point where Malfoy was floating. And as they hit, Malfoy's expression changed from triumph to terror. He screamed in agony as the blue light enveloped him, flailing and thrashing and struggling to remove the encasing ball of energy. But it was too late.

Albus felt his strength return to him. Malfoy was no longer capable of holding it back. He sailed towards the central point, coming to rest hovering in front of Malfoy, who stared at him in horror.

"Here's the proof, Malfoy." said Albus, as his opponent's body contorted and twisted. "_You're_ the one fighting the laws of magic. And now, they're fighting back. You never had a chance."

And then, Malfoy was gone. All that was left was a cloud of black ash.

Instantly, the walls of Sirius snapped back to their original state. Albus was once more surrounded by white plasma. And he began to feel a disturbance in the air. With a stab of horror, he realized that Malfoy's last enchantments were starting to unravel. In a few moments, the magic shielding Albus from the heat and energy of the star would break. He had to get out immediately.

Albus shot out of the bubble into solid whiteness. As the final layers of the enchantment dissipated, Albus cast his own. Now, he was fully protected again, but the battle had taken most of his strength and he wouldn't be able to continue like this for much longer. Every cell in his body was screaming for him to stop, but he pushed on, faster and faster, willing himself to break the surface of Sirius.

And then, he did. Albus found himself sailing through space. He was not safe by any means, but it would now be far easier to shield himself from harm. His second charm produced a protective, clear bubble around his body. This spell would last for a long time; he was free to relax his mind.

The moment he did so, the weight of everything he had been through came crashing on top of him. Every last ounce of his strength and willpower had been spent. The shapes of the stars around him blurred. And then, everything was gone.


	17. Albus's Decision

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 17: Albus's Decision**

Where was Albus?

He did not know. He had no memory of having gotten here. He had not even opened his eyes, so he did not know what his surroundings looked like.

Then, he remembered the duel. He remembered the savage curses and blows, losing his power, Victoria Perfectus disappearing, Malfoy trapped inside the blue orb…and escaping from Sirius with his final strength.

But what happened then?

He sat up and opened his eyes. He found himself in a place that was very familiar…yet impossible. It was a great, high-ceilinged hall lined with large, shiny, round chambers, each one open and gleaming invitingly. Unlike the other times he had seen the place, it was perfectly empty and silent.

"Albus."

Albus jumped, and turned around…to be greeted by a figure who Albus had thought he would never see again. It was a man in his late thirties, with glasses and very untidy black hair, just like Albus's own. Just visible beneath the jet-black tangles was a faded scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning.

Albus's mouth fell open.

"Come here, Al. Let me have a closer look at you."

Albus raced towards the figure and wrapped his arms around him. "Dad." he whispered, tears in his eyes.

And there they remained for many seconds, man and boy, each of them grasping the other tightly. When they finally pulled away from each other, the man looked down into Albus's face.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." said Harry Potter. "I experienced something just like this in the Forbidden Forest, many years ago. Tell me, what does this place look like to you?"

"Well," said Albus, looking around, "It looks like the Warp Pod center in New York City."

"For me, it resembled King's Cross Station." Harry said with a heavy sigh. "The circumstances surrounding my visit weren't quite the same as yours, but it brought about emotions which were every bit as powerful."

"So…" said Albus, looking at his father, "so you…you know everything?"

"Yes." Harry replied. "I do. And I couldn't be more proud of you, Albus. I never believed that you would have to go through the things that I faced…but you did, and with higher stakes even than my own trials."

"Dad…you wouldn't…you wouldn't know _why_ it all happened this way, would you?"

"I am not sure I understand your question." said Harry.

"In all of those grand duels throughout history, the Dark wizard won. But here, Malfoy failed. Was this all just because he disrupted the cycle of magic?"

"Well…" said Harry slowly, "I'm not sure you will like the answer."

"Tell me, Dad." said Albus forcefully. "Tell me everything."

"The answer is that the Dark wizard did _not_ always win the duel, because it was never a simple case of right or wrong. Each pair of wizards was tremendously powerful, as you know, and each fought on a different side. But it was never a true contest between good and evil; it was always a contest between two _sor__ts_ of evil."

"What do you mean?" said Albus, confused.

"Both wizards always made a compelling case against the other's virtues. From each wizard's standpoint, the other was evil. But in reality, both were power-crazed maniacs seeking to establish their own brand of authority over the world. The winner was the one who got to personally send humanity into oblivion."

"But…but how can that be? Malfoy's studies showed that the ancient civilizations always got behind one wizard!"

"Each wizard always earned the support of part of the world." said Harry. "The ancient texts Malfoy found were written by those loyal to particular wizards. All of what Malfoy read was biased. The fact is that none of these wizards ever truly fought in the name of anything we might call true justice."

"But then…but then why was this duel not that way too?"

"The answer, Albus, is that the wizard doesn't create society. Society creates the wizard. All of those past civilizations were dark times. They were ruled by uneducated people who hadn't yet conceived of any democratic ideas. It was little better than a state of nature. Wizards and Muggles alike battled each other for the best food, the best land, and the best mates. The dueling super-wizards were no exception.

"But society evolves over time. This new civilization brought more knowledge, more justice, and more harmony than any other. But it also brought with it the question of what would become of the old, savage ways. You and Malfoy were a reflection of those principles. Indeed, so was the battle between Voldemort and myself, since smaller conflicts and duels form and escalate as Sirius approaches the peak of its cycle.

"But what about all this power that's left over?" said Albus. "All the power that I still possess? In previous civilizations, that power always destroyed the world in the end. So doesn't that mean…doesn't that mean that I might yet still risk destroying the world?"

Harry said nothing, staring at Albus with a somber expression on his face.

"It does, doesn't it?" said Albus softly.

"For as long as you live, your power will continue to grow. It is already far beyond the natural level of the previous wizard pairs."

"So…so what you're saying is…" Albus continued, a lump rising in his throat, "…that the cycle of Sirius resets not when the duel occurs…but when both wizards are dead?"

Harry nodded, a great sadness etched into his face.

"Then…then the universe will not return to its natural state unless I die."

Again, Harry nodded. "I cannot make any decision for you, Albus. When I was suspended in this state so long ago, I had the choice to die, or to return. I chose to return, because I needed to accept my one final chance to destroy Voldemort. Now, though you are faced with the same choice, it is for very different reasons."

"Dad…" Albus said slowly, "What do you mean? Do you mean there is something that could be worth returning for?"

"I don't know the answer to that," said Harry, "but I do know what you can do. Only you can decide whether it is worth returning for."

"What can I do?" said Albus tentatively.

"You can return your siblings and cousins to the twenty-first century." said Harry. "Or perhaps, you could even go back a little earlier, and prevent Malfoy from causing all this in the first place."

Albus froze. His brain zoomed into overdrive. Of course, Harry was right. His powers were so great now that he could surely use them to travel back through time. But then, he thought of something else.

"I…" Albus said, hesitating, "I don't think it's worth it. I've now seen firsthand what interference with the timeline does. Who knows what damage I could do? And anyway, how could any of them return to their normal lives now, after everything they've seen and experienced? I know I couldn't. All the same…I wish that they had a say in this."

"They would want you to do what was right." said Harry. "Even if it meant never returning to their normal lives again. Of that, I am quite certain."

"Then in that case," said Albus, "there's only one thing I can do."

Harry stepped forward and hugged Albus again, tears pouring down his cheeks. "I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of you, my son. This has to be the hardest choice you have ever made. But if I were in your place, I couldn't have made a wiser decision. Indeed, your actions may ensure eternal peace. Civilization will not be destroyed. There will be a record of what you did, and the choice you made. The precise story of what happened within Sirius may never be known, but it will instill in humanity an important lesson about responsibility and power that will hopefully endure forever."

Unable to suppress the question, Albus burst out, "What's it like there? You know…when you move on?"

Harry gave a small smile and a shake of the head. "Not here. Not now. All I will say is that you have much to learn." And with that, Harry walked towards one of the Warp Pods, turned, and vanished.

Instinctively, Albus knew what he had to do. He turned around and headed for the nearest of the Warp Pods. The moment he entered the enclosed chamber, the familiar female voice intoned, "Albus Potter, apparition to preset coordinates. Please turn around."

Albus stood on the spot, took a deep breath…and turned.


	18. Sunrise Over Hogwarts

**Fawfulfan's Disclaimer: the Harry Potter Characters are the property of J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 18: Sunrise over Hogwarts**

The grounds of Hogwarts had not been this crowded in hundreds of years. Yet not a single sound broke through the pre-dawn quiet.

The rows and rows of golden benches covered virtually every inch of the sloping green lawns surrounding the castle, and every single one of them was filled. They stared silently forwards, looking pale, ashen-faced, and shocked. Furthermore, on the outskirts of this vast crowd stood swarms of reporters and camera crews, representing every nationality and every extraterrestrial settlement. The eyes of all humanity were trained on this spot.

Every one of the people present was unable to erase the memory of that newscast of three days previously. In many ways, it was cause to rejoice, for the Circle of the New Birth of Sorcery was no more. And yet, the tone of the announcement had been grave and somber. It spoke of loss.

"_There were no witnesses to what transpired between Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy within the center of Sirius, but many observed dramatic disturbances to the star. Reports say that the star began to pulse, grew brig__hter, contracted in on itself, and then abruptly reverted to its previous state. There has been no sign of Malfoy or Victoria Perfectus. However, sources have confirmed that Albus Potter has been recovered, suspended within a weak magical shield of energy __and rescued from space just before the protective charm broke. Attempts to revive Potter were unsuccessful._"

Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement. People on the outer sections of the seated crowd were turning their heads. People gaped, watching in horror and astonishment, as though the news hadn't been real to them until this moment. Six figures were moving slowly along a wide aisle, dressed in simple black suits: Nabus, Rasputin, Dolbri, Rob, Kramer, and James. Floating between them, drifting gently up and down as it passed, was a large, white capsule.

The silence broke. People were gasping, sobbing, burying their faces in their arms. Others simply stared in wide-eyed silence, unable to tear their gazes away from the place where their hero lay.

After what felt like an eternity, the six pallbearers reached a large, empty circle in the center of the crowd, and the floating casket came to rest in the center. Each of them turned away at once, unable to look any longer, and stepped backwards.

There was a pause. Then, Nabus stepped forward once more, and began to speak.

"I am sure that every one of you here is now aware of the circumstances surrounding Albus Potter's final act. You understand what he was fighting for, and what he was up against. We may never know what truly happened, but we don't really need to. We already understand everything that matters. The young man lying before us laid down his life for all of us. For every last person in existence. For the continuing wellbeing of all magic. If there has ever been a more valiant individual in history, I am unaware of it. His sacrifice saved the universe."

Nabus stepped back, and a few seconds later, Rasputin moved into the center.

"Albus Potter was more than a noble and valiant individual. He was someone who could unfailingly spot the good in others, however deeply it may be hidden. For many years, I was Malfoy's partner. He imprisoned me when I refused to continue to play a part in his evils. I never thought that I would be released from the dungeons of Victoria Perfectus. But Albus saw me for what I was, when even I was unable to do so. He gave me back my freedom. He gave me back my life. It's no surprise to find that he gave life back to all of you, too. Humanity has a second chance. The magnitude of his sacrifice, of his courage and his compassion, is beyond any of our comprehension."

As Rasputin returned to his place, Dolbri spoke up.

"As the Secretary-General of the United Nations, I understand the stupendous size of our world. We have come so far, and achieved so much. And now, we have gathered to honor the spirit of one whose selfless actions ensured that the world will survive. Never in the history of our society has anyone been faced with such a challenge. I don't believe that anyone else alive today would have been capable of meeting it. Thanks to his actions, our age of prosperity and harmony shall not die."

Now, Rob began to speak.

"I may not be a famous leader or have magical powers, but I think that's to my advantage as I stand here today. Why? Because I can see things for what they are in the eyes of the masses. People like me are the majority. And when I look at what Albus Potter did for us all…well, it just can't be put into words, the size of that deed. I was the first to see him when he arrived in this time period, and I understood then and there that he was special. He was practical. He always had a feeling for what was right. Imagine what the world would be like if we had more people with those kinds of principles. As it is, he made a huge difference."

And as Rob retreated back a few steps, Kramer took his place. Overcome with emotion, it was a few moments before he was able to start speaking.

"Albus was the best friend I ever had." he said shakily. "He eased my pain before he even knew it existed. He always looked out for me, respected me, and showed me kindness. Whenever we were together, we worked as a team until he knew he had no choice but to face the danger alone. When I last saw him, he was leaving our Axis to do battle with the Stingers and proceed to Victoria Perfectus. I…I knew it might be the last time I would see him alive. But I never doubted that he would triumph, one way or the other. Whichever way you look at it, Albus still won the battle. I may never be able to talk to him again, but our friendship can never perish."

Then, while Kramer turned and walked away, James walked forward. He was shaking from head to foot, and was staring at the ground. Finally, he opened his mouth.

"Albus…I'm…I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about everything." said James in a choked, hoarse mutter. "I went against your instincts so many times, from the moment that Malfoy lured us into the Forbidden Forest. And you paid for my mistakes. We all did. I'm proud of my free spirit, but I'm not proud of my ability to make decisions. I should have known that it would end up this way…you giving up your life for the greater good. You're a better person than I am.

"But you know what? In spite of all my stupid mistakes, it didn't stop you from doing what was right. You are our father's son, plain and simple. And I'll say this, too…all that power you had at your command…it would have corrupted any other wizard. It didn't change you at all. Maybe that's another reason you sacrificed yourself…to stop that power from doing any harm. I wouldn't doubt it for a second. That's the kind of thing that you would have done. It's why we're still standing here."

James fell silent, then trudged back into place, his eyes streaming.

The sun was now rising proper, casting a purplish glow over the scene. There was complete silence once more. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

Then, suddenly, the white casket was engulfed in a tower of flames. People gasped; those at the front shielded their faces against a blast of heat. The fire swirled and spiraled, growing higher and higher. For a split second, a blazing stag seemed to bound happily through the air. Then, the flames were gone, and in their place was a magnificent marble tomb, almost identical to that of the ancient headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, standing a few hundred yards away.

Nobody left their seats. Everyone sat there, gazing up at the spectacular monument. Everything had come full circle. After having been taken away from Hogwarts over two thousand years ago, Albus Potter would now rest on the school grounds.

When the crowd of people finally began to make their way towards the towers of Hogsmeade, a few figures in the center of the group did not follow. They continued to sit in the benches, staring at the white tomb. When at last grounds grew still, the sun was now high in the sky. At last, one of them spoke.

"James…" said Nabus slowly, looking thoughtfully at him, "you are far more intelligent than you gave yourself credit for in your speech."

"What do you mean?" said James in confusion.

"That last bit you said. The part about why you suspect Albus sacrificed himself." said Nabus. "I think you may be exactly right."

"You mean…" said Rose, staring at the former leader of the Feather of Fawkes through wide eyes, "You think…you think he _chose_ to die?"

"It would explain a lot." said Rasputin.

Lily, Hugo, and Kramer sat rigid, silent tears pouring down their cheeks. James stared at the white tomb, and whispered, "You're really something, Al."

"He managed to do something that has never happened in a million years." said Nabus. "He steered us through the end of Sirius's cycle with our world intact."

"What do you think the future will hold?" said Rasputin.

"I think," said Rose, turning and looking thoughtfully over the sloping lawns, "That he's proven that this future society is just getting started."


End file.
